Aleister Crowley and The Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn

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In 1898, when 23, Crowley read a book by Eckartshausen entitled The Cloud upon the Sanctuary. This was to have a great affect upon the young man, as it spoke of a Secret Sanctuary of Spirits, an inner sanctum which held all the secrets pertaining to God and to Nature. Thrilled by this idea, he set about to Þnd such a hidden order, which offered him what he had so long desired, knowledge of the mysteries, which would enable him to be truly superior to all.


Envisage the situation of the young Crowley - early years dominated by a harsh, uncompromising religion, which permitted eternal life only to those it saw worthy, who had conformed to the rules laid down. This, however, was a new perspective - enlightenment could be obtained through study and knowledge (a doctrine known as gnosis), and not through worship and obedience to Holy Law. This must have greatly appealed to Crowley, as he did not need to conform to the system that he had grown to hate, he need only search and be taught.


Crowley started his search in earnest. Later that year, in Zermatt, he encountered one Julian Baker, and explained what he sought. This Baker, a student of the occult, was to introduce him to a member of the Golden Dawn.


The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was an esoteric society that dealt in ritual magic, the Qabalah, and other mystical matters. Its origins have been the subject of much debate, although there is a consensus view that it was the product of one man, William Wynn Westcott. It will here be necessary to explain a little of the history of this order, and explain how it was organised, so we can see how Crowley interacted with it.


Dr. Westcott, a London Coroner, was a prominent Freemason. He was deeply involved in a Masonic side degree, the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (the SRIA), whose purpose was the study of philosophic and esoteric matters (the Qabalah and hermetica). Not content with this order, which did not practice anything that could be truly called magic, existing mainly as a discussion group, he set about inventing a new order. However, due to the very nature of occult orders, for it to be of note, it needed a deÞned, authentic origin. He achieved this by 'translating' some cipher manuscripts 'discovered' by a masonic priest in a bookshop. These, he claimed, were fragments of magical rituals, with an address in Germany representing an order of Rosicrucian adepts.


As regards the issue of the ætiology of this order, the theory expounded to me has been thus: The formulation of the Golden Dawn was not in the hands of just Wynn Westcott, but also in those of a certain Kenneth MacKenzie. A complete biography of Westcott has never been written, but the character analysis presented is that he was a rather schizoid type who possessed a rather mediocre intellect, and in himself was not capable of generating the cipher manuscripts, nor the complex Golden Dawn rituals. All the evidence points to MacKenzie as the genius behind the creation of the GD. MacKenzie died in the 1870's so the suggestion is that the GD was a long time in the making, and following MacKenzie's death, Westcott carried on their work to it's conclusion. (stuff about MacKenzie)


In 1887, with the co-operation of two other men, Dr. Woodman and Samuel Liddell Mathers, Westcott founded the Þrst Temple of the Golden Dawn, by right of a charter 'granted' by the head of the German order. This they named the Isis-Urania Temple, and it was to meet at Mark Mason's Hall, then in Great Queen Street, London.


The Golden Dawn possessed a hierarchical structure, in keeping with many other occult bodies, including the Freemasons and the Rosicrucian societies. It was divided into 11 grades or degrees, which represented successively increased learning and ability in magical matters. It's codes for these grades were based upon an esoteric Þgure known as the Tree of Life, which was part of the Hebrew body of Mysticism known as the Qabalah (From QBLH ­p; received tradition). The hierarchy was divided up into 3 orders which each represented a certain class. The lowest order was named the Golden Dawn, and comprised those students who had learnt magical doctrines, and had passed exams on these. The second order was titled the Red Rose and Golden Cross, and it was here that the members practised magical acts. The third and Þnal order was known as the Silver Star, and was composed of those adepts who had crossed the Abyss, and themselves become masters of the magical arts. (ToL Þg. with GD grades)


As for the actual body of the work of the Golden Dawn, this is very well documented. The original 5 grades in the lowest order were primarily academic, in that each grade had a certain number of skills to perfect, and knowledge to acquire. For example, they needed to achieve mastery of the astral plane through meditation and certain forms of Yogic exercises. The knowledge required was primarily Qabalistic, although other forms of occult doctrine were touched upon: the Tarot, Enochian magic and ceremonial magic, to name a few.

The major body of work in the second order was that of achieving conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel. The individual HGA is a celestial intelligence (some say a Secret Chief) with whom each person is theoretically capable of reaching through meditation. This contact was beneÞcial as it allowed the adept to reach his true potential, and so ascend to, and cross the Abyss, to become a true Master. This was considered the Great Work of the Order as a whole, and it is interesting to read the differing accounts of adepts who claimed to have achieved it.


Around 1891, the head of the German order died, and there was no further contact, following a brusque reply which stated that if they wished to learn more, then they had the means to obtain it. This implied that they should obtain direct contact with the 'Secret Chiefs', a tenebrous group of individuals who were immortal and masters of all. These Secret Chiefs were thought to inhabit the unpopulated areas of Tibet, or actually be ethereal spirits, with no physical form. At any rate, The leaders of the Golden Dawn needed to establish a link with these lofty souls.


In 1891, in the Bois de Boulogne of Paris, Mathers, the third leader of the GD claimed to made contact with the Secret Chiefs. He stated that they had granted him sole authority to rule the order, and he wrested control from Westcott, who resigned in 1897. Meanwhile, the other leader, Dr. Woodman had died. Mathers was now the supreme ruler of the GD. At this time the Golden Dawn was a surprising heterogeneous organisation, given that it had been formed by 3 freemasons. Although a proportion of the membership had been derived from the members of the SRIA, who had been enticed by Westcott, there were also many women, and a number of individuals with whom conventional freemasonry would have had no truck with. Prominent members included Arthur Edward Waite and W.B. Yeats, the poet.


We now return to Crowley who had been introduced to Mathers through the agency of a George Cecil Jones, a friend of Baker's, who also happened to be a member of the Golden Dawn. Crowley accepted Mather's invitation to join, and in November 1898, was initiated as a Neophyte 0° = 0° in the outer order of the Golden Dawn. He took the motto Perdurabo 'I will endure to the end', and was hence known as Frater Perdurabo.


One month later, he became a Zelator, and in the two following months he gained the next two grades. After a statutory period of latency he then achieved the rank of Philosiphus, and stood on the brink of the second order. This was amazing progress, in 6 months he had scaled the ranks of the outer order, and was soon to be a practising magician in the eyes of the Golden Dawn. It would have pleased him immensely, this was his type of order. He could gain new accolades at the drop of a pin, and be recognised as an adept, albeit by a select few.


In 1900, Mathers was living in Paris. Removed geographically from the Golden Dawn in England, dissent arose. The adepts of the second order started to rebel against his authority over them, demanding proof of his compact with the Secret Chiefs. On the 16th of February of that year, Mathers, fearing that he would be ousted from his seat of power at the head of the G.D. wrote a letter to his representative, Mrs. Emery (Who was also the Instructor of Rituals in the order), and informed her of the truth behind the formulation of the G.D. :

"...For this forces me to tell you plainly (and, understand me well, I can prove to the hilt every word which I say here and more, and were I confronted with S.A. {Sapere Aude - Westcott} I should say the same) though for the sake of the order, and for the circumstance that it would mean so deadly a blow to S.A.'s reputation, I entreat you to keep this secret from the Order, for the present, at least, though you are at perfect liberty to show him (Westcott) this if you think Þt, after mature consideration. He has never been at any time either in personal or written communication with the Secret Chiefs of the Order, he having either himself forged, or procured to be forged the professed correspondence between him and them, and my tongue having been tied all these years by a previous Oath of Secrecy to him, demanded by him, from me, before showing me what he had either done or caused to be done or both..."


A short while earlier, on the 13th of January, Crowley having been refused the initiation into the second order, to the grade of 5°=6°, by those running the second order in Mather's absence, he travelled to Paris, to demand that Mathers perform the initiation himself. Mathers agreed, with the premise that Crowley should swear an oath of undying allegiance to him, and that Crowley would recognise him as head of the order.


So it was that Crowley became an Adeptus Minor of the Order of the Rosæ Rubæ et Auræ Crucis. On his return to London, Crowley applied to the headquarters of the second order for the copies of the degree rituals that were rightly now available to him. However, he was refused these, and was not recognised as an Adeptus Minor, since the initiation had been performed by Mathers. (the secretary at this time was a Miss. Cracknell, whom Crowley describes typically as "...an ancient sapphic crack, waiting to be Þlled..."). In anger Crowley returned to Paris, to tell Mathers what had occurred. Whether his anger was due primarily to their non-recognition of his new grade, or the overt insubordination against Mathers, we do not know. In the Confessions, Crowley states "...that the London body was in open revolt against the Chief...", and makes no mention of his feelings on the matter ­p; so he would have it that it was the lack of loyalty that had piqued him.