The absolute biggest problem that all lodges have in common, whether just forming clear up to the positively ancient, is a resource problem. There is one resource that if a lodge lacks it, the lodge can not exist---except as a name and number on a piece of paper somewhere. This very same resource, if a lodge can gain and keep enough of it, of the right level of perfection---then all of the rest of the lodges resource problems can be overcame.

            This resource is people. A lodge lives and dies based upon this resource. No matter how neat sounding the idea of a lodge is---without personal it can not happen.

            And they have to be the right people. The reason that lodges outside of the monolithic esoteric Orders have the blackball system is to try to ensure that the incoming personal are the right type of people for the work that the lodge does. No one must ever be admitted that makes you want to avoid going to lodge. If they make your or any other current members skin crawl, perhaps they should not be admitted to the system.

            The members of a lodge HAVE to get along with one another. And while one does not have to be best friends with everyone in the lodge---one must be able to tolerate them. It is better to lose a possible Adept rather than admit someone who belongs in a reformatory. The work we do in lodge is delicate enough without admitting a bull in the china-shop.

            There are some who would say that this is unfair. Well, life is unfair. There is no rule that says that the Orders and lodges of our tradition, or any other secret society for that matter, has to admit all the people who apply to them. It would be impossible to maintain our high standard of work if we had to do so.

            Besides the ability to get along with people, an applicant must be able and willing to do the work. Without some level of intelligence, educational and emotional maturity, along with a dollop of open-mindedness, there is not much that the Golden Dawn system can do for a person. Without the determination and will-power to do the work, along with a willingness to contribute to the system, the rituals of the system will only be so many empty words and gestures. The seeds of the system will only yield fruit to those who are willing and able to nourish and maintain the garden.

            I will admit that quite often the lodges and Orders lose people that they shouldnt have lost. A lot of these losses boil down to false impressions of the system. All it takes is for the possible member to met one rude Officer or member at the wrong time, and draw the conclusion that that is the best that the system generates. Or for someone to refuse to answer a simple question which to the applicant thinks is a perfectly reasonable question. Or for the curriculum to look heavier than the student thinks that they are ready for. These or any other number of reasons can cause the tradition to lose what may have been a suitable member. I have also seen perceived religionous  biases and the impression that the lodges and Orders are much more organized that they really are, scare away possible applicants. If we are lucky, these applicants someday will decide that such things are not as important as they first thought than to be.

            I, personally, so not have a clue on how to attract applicants to a lodge. But I can tell you the biggest factor in why the tradition has so many dropouts---and schisms---it is simply people believing that what they are receiving from the system is NOT worth the cost that they are paying for it. The cost of the tradition is much more than monetary---it is also about the experiences that a member has with the tradition.

            For instance, the Officers might not be living up to the members standards. It does not matter how many times an Officer claims to be a flawed human being, what matters is how and when the members actually notice it. Putting up with the antics of the Officers of the system is part of the price the members pay for the lessons of the system---just like those who belong to and attend a lodge, run the risk of having to serve as an Officer as the price they pay to be allowed to work with others in the group environment.

            The human resource problem is the hardest to overcome. And I am sorry that I do not have any ideas on how to overcome it without having to work hard, play nice with one another and to use common sense while dealing with your fellow brothers and sisters of the tradition.