by Marcus Katz
The Bedford Place crowd were a central nexus of Golden Dawn activity following its first year or so, and perhaps requires more research. Bedford Place was drawn by Paget, an artist whose brother famously drew Sherlock Holmes, giving him the distinctive deerstalker that Conan Doyle had never written. The 1901 census records Paget and the ages of his family and two servants.
What has not been noted in previous research is that H.M Paget was living at 17 Fitzroy Street in 1879 with his wife and children, likely visited by Henrietta’s sister, Florence, before Mina Bergson took residence there sometime between 1880 and 1886. A letter to Paget at 17 Fitzroy Street, from fellow Royal Academy artist Sir Frederick Leighton, is clearly postmarked March 1879, some nine years before the property was used by Mathers and Company.[247]
Letter from Leighton to Paget, 1879
Notes & Queries, December 8th 1888 & February 9th, 1889
Notes & Queries, December 8th 1888 & February 9th, 1889
Notes & Queries [detail], December 8th 1888 & February 9th, 1889
Notes & Queries, December 8th 1888 & February 9th, 1889
A Society of Hermetic Students
We know that the first public announcement of the Golden Dawn was by the allusion contained in two letters published in Notes and Queries, 08 December 1888. Here we see the original letter and the response, 09 February 1889, both likely written by Westcott, the first under an alias, ‘Gustav Mommsen’. We can note the phrases “society of students”, “course of study” and “Hermetic students of the G.D.” Clearly an educational agenda is being advertised.
But what sort of students did the Golden Dawn wish to attract, and who was shaping the curriculum to be taught? It is my view that Westcott was the chief architect of the educational project within the order, and it was he who had a clear idea of the type of people he wished as students.
In answering a request in his letter dated 15 December 1884, possibly to A.E. Waite (1857-1942), Westcott wrote:
The Rosicrucians of Bulwer Lytton are fanciful and impossible people – Our type is more Valentine Andrea, Basil Valentine, Jacob Behmen ... Like many modern forms of old Societies we have great difficulty in not getting spoiled by members who join without real desire to study the occult.[248]
Westcott was particularly enthusiastic about the delivery of esoteric teachings, and he himself delivered almost 50 papers to the members of the Metropolitan College from 1885 to 1928. The subjects of these papers included alchemy, Rosicrucianism, numerology, and kabbalah. He also published works on the Isiac Tablet of Cardinal Bembo and the significant eight volume collection Collectanea Hermetica (1893-1896).
GD2-1-2 p169 Founding Members Original Golden Dawn Manuscript
His papers also included works on comparisons of Mithraism and Freemasonry, and the Egyptian and Greek Mysteries, in which he saw “a magical chain of union between these great benevolent institutions.”
From the beginning, Westcott had been keen to develop a full curriculum from the rudiments of the ‘cypher manuscripts’. He had written to Mathers in 1887 that, once the cypher was written up and a third Chief was chosen, they must “endeavour to spread a complete scheme of initiation.”[249]
Westcott was certainly avid in his range of subjects for such a scheme.
In an earlier address to the S.R.I.A. he suggests as topics for study:
the whole range of church architecture as crystallised symbolism, the dogmas of the Gnostics, the several systems of philosophy of the Hindoos, the parallelism between Rosicrucian doctrine and Eastern Theosophy, for which read Max Heindel’s ‘Rosicrucian Cosmo Conception’, and that enticing subject, the origin and meaning of the 22 Trumps or symbolic designs of the ‘Tarocchi’ or pack of Tarot cards, which Eliphaz Lévi says form a group of keys which will unlock every secret of Theology and Cosmology.[250]
Westcott’s voluminous writings and numerous interests (mainly from the S.R.I.A.) provided a store of information from which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, under Mather’s direction and ritual structuring, profited immensely.
Th.A.a Book (Yorke Collection)
The Devastating but Priceless Secret
The taught content of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was delivered through several channels: as ‘Knowledge Lectures’, given within or as an addendum to ritual initiation; as ‘Flying Rolls’ or supplementary texts available to the initiate; and as teaching embedded within the ritual speeches, both initiatory and otherwise. Some would have been automatically given to the student, other material would be requested from the library, such as that held at Clipstone Street. An original document on astrology and tarot, for example, was maintained in a bound hardback pad, entitled Th. A.a. Minor, Astrologie and had the word ‘Loan’ written in gold.[251]
The Construction of the Curriculum
When we examine the Knowledge Lectures (the formal taught curriculum of the Golden Dawn) and the Flying Rolls (the supplementary instructional texts of the order) we encounter what Luhrmann would no doubt call the multifarious occult[252] - subjects of study veering between clairvoyance and Theban, the construction of a pentagram, Enochian language and teachings on the place of self-sacrifice.[253]
These subjects could easily be dismissed as examples of “structured ambiguity” resting on a “deconstructed notion of belief”[254] specifically designed to create “interpretative drift” – a progressive rationalisation of irrational beliefs.[255] However, this may not be the only interpretation of the aim of these practices. We will examine the construction of the curriculum and isolate statements of intent, and demonstrate the place of what Greenwood calls the magical consciousness – a form of associative thinking through sensory patterns of interrelatedness.[256] This consciousness is the intent of the practices – one found in participation, not analysis.[257]
As we explore the construction of this curriculum, we will measure the “coherence, direction and purpose” of the teachings against the stated intent.[258]
The Knowledge Lectures and Flying Rolls
There were five main Knowledge Lectures and 36 Flying Rolls[259] – composed by Mathers and others – and their manufacture was described by him as not simply the “somewhat commonplace labour of translating a heap of unclassified MSS. ready placed in my hands for that purpose.”[260] Indeed, the genesis of “almost the whole of the Second Order Knowledge” was obtained by him from the “Secret Chiefs”; “by clairvoyance, by Astral projection on their part and on mine – by the Table, by the Ring and Disc, at times by a direct Voice audible to my external ear...”[261] In fact, he attested that the obtaining of the ‘Z ritual’ (the Zelator ritual) had resulted in extreme “nerve prostration” and bleeding from the nose, mouth and occasionally the ears.[262] Whilst we can make of this what we wish, the amount of material is testimony to one who once greeted A.E. Waite (1857-1942) in the British Library Reading Room, staggering under a load of books, with the words, “I have clothed myself with hieroglyphics as with a garment.”[263]
According to Westcott, Mathers studied under him and Woodman from his admission in 1882 to the Rosicrucian Society of England. Mathers would have been 28 years old. He proved an apt pupil and published a translation of Rosenroth’s Kabbalah Denudata (1677) in 1887, some five years later. He also published The Key of Solomon the King (1889), in which he was assisted by Westcott and later the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage (1898), which had a troubled publishing history. He also provided essays to the Rosicrucian Society’s Transactions, including ‘The Deity in Hebrew Letters’, ‘Rosicrucian Symbols’ and ‘Rosicrucian Ancients and their Zodiacal Emblems’.[264]
Mathers published a few other writings outside of the Golden Dawn material: a work translated from the French on infantry campaigning, a poem ‘in six duans’ entitled ‘The Fall of Granada’ and his work on tarot, The Tarot: Its Occult Signification, Use in Fortune Telling, and Method of Play (1888).[265]
This latter work coincides with the foundation of the Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, where Mathers was to produce the ‘Herculean task’ which he felt called upon to execute; the synthesis of kabbalah, tarot, ritual, Ancient Egyptian myth, Enochian magic, and more into an entire magical curriculum.[266]
The Flying Rolls
The documents known as the Flying Rolls were circulated to members of the order with strict instructions. If the member were to be away, they were to inform the member from whom they received the materials – indicating that the documents were circulated rather than distributed from one source. They were circulated by registered post, “properly covered and fastened up against inspection.”[267] A time limit was placed on the keeping of each roll, and the member was required to sign a form and acknowledge receipt of the roll. All queries were to be passed back to N.O.M., Westcott,[268] and no address was ever to be written down on the papers.
Westcott’s papers give a catalogue of the rolls, including the date of issue and the cost of copying the document. The catalogue is of interest particularly with regard to the date of circulation and also the naming of the rolls, which demonstrates variances as the rolls were later edited and changed, in content or sequence.[269]
The first roll was issued on 07 November 1892 at a cost of 2/6d. It was entitled ‘Warnings’ and was followed that same month by three further rolls, on ‘Purity and Will’, ‘Instructions’ and a ‘Spirit Vision’, this last composed by Florence Farr and Annie Horniman. It was later re-numbered and replaced by a note by Mathers on the second roll. Further rolls followed for 1892 and 1893, and the last was issued in November 1894. The latter rolls vary more widely between administrative instructions, such as the process of stamping letters (Adepts were advised to place the stamp facing sideways with the Queen’s face upturned to replicate the position of C.R.’s head in the tomb), to the usage of ritual implements in divination. The roll on stamping letters was erased and replaced with one on clairvoyance in 1894.[270]
List of Rolls and Authors[271]
‘Warnings’, Westcott.
‘Purity and Will’, Westcott.
‘Instructions’, Westcott.
‘Spirit Vision’ [later re-numbered 6], Farr & Simpson.
‘Imagination’, Berridge.
‘Note on Roll 2’ [later re-numbered 4], Mathers.
‘Material Alchymy’, Westcott.
‘Geometric Pentagram’ [originally ‘Enoch Suggestions’], Pullen-Berry.
‘Right and Left Pillars’, unknown.
‘Self -Sacrifice’, Mathers.
‘Clairvoyance’, Mathers.
‘Telesm[atic] Images and Adonai’, Mathers.
‘Secrecy and Hermetic (Love)’, Farr.
‘Talismans and Flashing Tablets’, Westcott.
‘Man and God’, Westcott.
‘Fama Fraternitatis’, Westcott.
‘Vault Sides’, Westcott.
‘Progress’, Horniman or Simpson.[272]
‘Aims and Means’, Westcott.
‘Elementary View of Man’, Mathers.
‘Know Thyself ’, Moina Mathers.
‘Free Will’, Murray [not present in King, 1987)].
‘Tatwa Visions’ [originally ‘Regulations for Exams’], Moina Mathers.
‘Horary Figure’, Berridge.
‘Clairvoyance’ [originally ‘Notice re. Stamping Letters’], Brodie-Innes.
‘Re Planets to Tatwas’ [a supplement to Roll 12], Mathers.
‘Theurgia’, Percy Bullock.
‘Use of Implements in Divination’, Mathers & Westcott.
‘Order to 4 Liutenants’, Mathers.
‘Tatwas and Scrying & Hierophant’s Making 0=0 Signs’, Mathers.
‘Theban Letters’ [originally numbered 31], Westcott.
‘An Exorcism’ [originally numbered 32], Brodie-Innes.
‘Enoch Visions’ [originally ‘New Regulations’], Rand.
‘Ethiopic Letters’, Moina Mathers.
‘Notes on the Z Exordiums’, [likely Mathers]
‘Skrying and Astral Projection’ [not included in Westcott’s catalogue as issued after he resigned from office], Moina Mathers.
Whilst Francis King was in “no doubt” that these flying rolls were created “mainly” by Mathers,[273] it is apparent in analysis that the bulk of content more than equally came from Westcott. Of the Flying Rolls, Westcott authored 11, Mathers 10, and they jointly authored another. A textual analysis of the word count of material demonstrates that Mathers produced some 10,900 words and Westcott 16,000.[274]
So were these documents intended to be circulated as part of an overarching structure, and what was their intent? How did they integrate with the Knowledge Lectures and rituals of the order? How where they received by the students? We will here concentrate upon the original manuscripts of the order, rather than later variants such as the Stella Matutina or Cromlech Papers.[275]
We will turn our attention to the first rolls in order to discern the nature of the teaching being presented. The first rolls treat the subject of the will rather than ritual magical practice – and rather than the “Golden Dawn apocrypha” labelled by King[276] they appear more to be discursive papers built upon each other, referencing both the Knowledge Lectures, rituals and in addition building upon previous circulated roll material. The first example is P.W. Bullock’s (n.d.) ‘remarks’ on the prior roll of Westcott on ‘Will’. Bullock would work some two years later with Westcott on the introduction to The Chaldean Oracles of Zoroaster (1895) published in the Collectanea Hermetica series.[277] His response in the rolls is dense: he quotes the Bible and the Bhaghavad Gita, and references numerology, kabbalah, alchemy, clairvoyancy, and Eliphas Lévi in as many lines.
It seems that these rolls were not pedagogic material but were circulatory documents intended for discursive practice. The language of each expects prior knowledge – of the ‘Minutum Mundi scheme’ in Mathers own addition to this particular roll – and experience, such as of the Vault of the Adepts.[278] In modern parlance, these rolls were a discussion forum, with threads for particular themes, and not a linear or structured teaching method.
The Rituals
Although most scholars concentrate upon the initiatory rituals (Bogdan, 2007), the vast array of other rituals contain textual passages denoting much of the intention behind the order’s project. These rituals – including Enochian squares and invocations, evocation of angels, and the consecration of the Vault of the Adepts – are perhaps less treated for their content, whereas ‘initiation’ is deemed by scholars a safer subject, despite the content of such rituals far outweighing the initiatory texts in both mass and engagement by the student.
Here, for example, is an extract from the speech given by the Hierophant towards the close of the Ceremony of the Equinox, stating the intent of the order:
Fratres et Sorores of the Order, seeing that the whole intention of the Lower Mysteries, or of external initiation, is by the intervention of the Symbol, Ceremonial, and Sacrament, so to lead the Soul that it may be withdrawn from the attraction of matter and delivered from the absorption therein, whereby it walks in somnambulism, knowing not whence it cometh nor whither it goeth; and seeing also, that thus withdrawn, the Soul by true direction must be brought to study of Divine Things, that it may offer the only clean Oblation and acceptable sacrifice, which is Love expressed towards God, Man and the Universe.[279]
This is an ascent narrative with the metaphor of ‘awakening’ from a sleep-like state clearly depicted. As these subjects were made increasingly public, what remained secret? And what attitude did the student need in order to benefit from these teachings? A case study of one particular student – the notorious Aleister Crowley – will be made in this context.
With regard to the reception of these teachings, Aleister Crowley’s response to the “devastating but priceless secrets”[280] revealed to him on his initiation into the order in 1898 was that, “I had known it all for months; and, obviously, any schoolboy in the lower fourth could memorise the whole lecture in twenty-four hours.”[281
]
Although Gilbert notes Crowley’s following comment, in which Crowley writes, “I see today that my intellectual snobbery was shallow and stupid. It is vitally necessary to drill the aspirant in the groundwork,”[282] it should also be noted that Crowley’s commentary goes further in regard of the teachings and their relationship to ritual.
Crowley notes that his reception of the initiation ritual itself is made a true “sacrament” despite the “muddled middle-class mediocrities” that he deemed were performing the initiation.[283] For Crowley, he saw himself as “entering the Hidden Church of the Holy Grail,” and not merely the Mark Mason’s Hall. He was successful, he suggests, because of the need for the student to be “armed with scientific knowledge, sympathetic apprehension, and common sense.” For him, this is due to his own “training in mathematics and chemistry ... poetic affinities ... and practical ancestors.”[284]
Furthermore, he goes on to note that “this course of study [the terminology and theory of Magick from a strictly intellectual standpoint] should precede initiation and that it should not be mixed up with it.”[285] As his Confessions record a discussion of this matter as early as 1898 with both Julian Baker and George Cecil Jones, it is obvious that already Crowley was considering the teaching methodology, order of delivery of content, and preparation of the candidate. It is these early thoughts on the curriculum and grade structure that would resurface later in Crowley’s own revision of the scheme through both the O.T.O. and the A∴A∴
