ALBERT PIKE
Albert Pike (1809-1891)
No discussion of anti-Masonry would be complete without an extensive mention of Albert Pike. The flyleaf of a recent biography of Pike by Mason Jim Tresner describes him as "...a pioneer, a crusader for justice for Native Americans, a practical joker, a reformer, a journalist, a philosopher, a prominent Washington lawyer, and a Civil War general." For many years, he was leader of the Scottish Rite in the southern United States and he was the author of Morals and Dogma published in 1871.
Most who join Masonry have no idea who Pike was. In fact, of those who join Freemasonry, few will own a copy of any of Pike's works. And of the few who do, it will likely be Morals and Dogma - a book most admit to never having read! For about 60 years it was given to all who joined the Southern United States jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, an appendant body of Freemasonry. Of the few who actually begin reading this ponderous 850+ page tome, few finish it and of those who do, the great majority admit that they could barely understand it. Yet despite this, anti-Masons assert that Pike and his works exert significant influence over Freemasonry today.
Morals and Dogma is a philosophical work, created by an individual who was an extraordinarily prolific writer even for an age when prolific writing was the norm. It was also fashioned in the style of Pike's time when public speaking was a high art form and Pike was known far and wide for his skills in this area. Morals and Dogma is not a manifesto (i.e. public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions) for Masonry or even for the Scottish Rite's Southern Masonic Jurisdiction. It is, rather, an attempt by Pike to provide a framework for understanding religions and philosophies of the past. Pike believed that without understanding the history of a concept, one couldn't grasp the concept itself - and thus his lengthy explanations of various religious beliefs (consistent with knowledge of those beliefs in the mid-1800s).
If one were to estimate, the numbers would likely be as follows:
Out of the next 100 men who join Masonry world-wide, less than 10 will obtain (either through purchase or from a library) Pike's Morals and Dogma.
Out of those 10, perhaps 8 will actually pick it up to read. (Others will have received it as a gift from a relative or mentor - and simply aren't interested.)
Out of those 8, perhaps 3 will actually finish reading it. (It is, after all, over 900 pages long and has an index of over 200 pages. When's the last time YOU read a book with over 1,100 pages???)
Out of the 3 who actually finish, perhaps one will feel he understands it!
It is a massive book and is certainly not 'light reading'!
And we suspect that precious few anti-Masons have ever really read the book - but are not at all hesitant about quoting passages they've found (or have been pointed toward).
Because of the writing style used by Pike, many of the explanations he seeks to provide are totally lost on current day readers. Pike felt that unless one understood the complete background of a philosophy, he could never expect to understand any part thereof. In consequence, he attempted to put literally everything he'd read, learned, or 'knew' into his prodigious writings.
In the case of Morals and Dogma, it's sheer size alone keeps most people today from reading, much less understanding it. (Don't believe it? Use our Reality Gauge and get a copy from your local library. READ IT! Don't just browse and look for offensive passages which you might find if you take it out of context; actually READ THE BOOK!)
Grabbing quotes out of context (and this was, after all, a discussion of various world religions), it's quite easy to find things which will make Pike sound just awful. In context - and particularly when one considers that this is one book by one writer - Morals and Dogma simply has no relevance to the actions and activity of Freemasonry.
How did Morals and Dogma gain such 'notoriety'?
For many years, the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States' Scottish Rite gave those who received the 32nd Degree a copy of this book. It was a tribute to a man who had done so very much for their organization. For many Masons, it might have been the only book they owned which related to Freemasonry! Hundreds of thousands of copies of this work were published and given away. They have collected dust on the bookshelves for decades.
For those who sought to learn Masonry's supposed "secrets", this tome seemed to be a ready reference. A cover with a 'Masonic' emblem; reference to "all" the degrees (so they thought), and a book which had been in their house since they were old enough to remember. A phrase was plucked from here and there - and suddenly Masonry was an all-encompassing satanic group in their mind.
Starting with the first edition of Morals and Dogma in 1871, every edition is prefaced with these words:
"Everyone is free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound. It is only required of him that he shall weigh what is taught, and give it a fair hearing and unprejudiced judgment."
Today, some Masons will diminish Pike's importance so as to deflect the charges of anti-Masons. There is no doubt, though, that he was among the most influential Masons of his time. It must be also remembered that this was a time when communications even with surrounding states was severely limited and travel from place to place took days. Pike wrote Morals and Dogma some eight years before Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first wireless telephone message!
Other Masons - particularly those who may not be totally familiar with the stature of this man - will dismiss him as meaningless. However, that's not true. Pike was a giant of his time who did extraordinary things in his lifetime. He was, in fact, the ONLY Confederate soldier to be honored in America's capitol: Washington, DC, where a huge statue of him dominates a major intersection (Judiciary Square). See more about that here.
Pike's philosophical writings, however, have been misquoted and used completely out of context to the point that likely today even he would not recognize them!
To this day, in addition to the statue, the United States honors Pike through its interstate highway system. The Albert Pike Highway runs from Hot Springs, Arkansas to Colorado Springs, Colorado. Cities along the route include:
Arkansas: Hot Springs, Fort Smith
Oklahoma: Muskogee, Tulsa, Enid, Cherokee, Alva
Kansas: Coldwater, Greensburg, Dodge City
Colorado: Pueblo, Colorado Springs
Corresponding US Highways:
US 64, [OK 34/KS 1], US 183, US 54, US 154, US 50, US 85
Recently, we found an interesting and informative essay titled "Venus, the Devil, Jack Chick and the Freemasons". We encourage you to read it here.
We also from time to time get inquiries as to where one might obtain a copy of Morals & Dogma. At one point in time, there were copies donated by Masons and their families in nearly every public library in the country. Most of these have been 'removed' by patrons (the word "stolen" is more appropriate, it would appear) without the permission of the library. However, the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite has copies for sale (used only - since the book hasn't been given to new members for a couple of decades now) on their website.We would encourage anyone interested in understanding Morals and Dogma to also consider 'A Glossary to Morals and Dogma' by Hutchens as well as the informative book 'The Bible in Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma' by Hutchens and Monson. Both of these are also available from the Southern Masonic Jurisdiction Scottish Rite's bookstore.
|
ALEISTER CROWLEY
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
Written and compiled by George Knowles.
Aleister Crowley was perhaps the most controversial and misunderstood personality to figure in the new era of modern day witchcraft. Known by the popular press of his time as “The Great Beast†and “The Wickedest Man in the Worldâ€, Crowley was a powerful magician, poet, prophet and famed occultist. He was also a one-time witch, though most of the elders of the craft would discredit him the title.
Crowley like many great men before him, was a man before his time. He lived in a society that could little understand him or appreciated his latent genius. His writings so shocked the peoples of his era that he was robbed of the praise that it merited, and as a poet he never received the recognition he deserved.
Crowley was born on the 12th October 1875 in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. His parents Edward Crowley and his wife Emily were wealthy brewers and the epitome of respectability. They were also devout Christians and staunch members of the Plymouth Brethren sect. They brought up young Crowley in an atmosphere of pious religious narrow-mindedness, against which he constantly rebelled. His whole life thereafter seems to have been a revolt against his parents and everything they stood for. His father died when he was 11 years old.
After the death of his father, Crowley inherited the family fortune and went on to be educated at Trinity College Cambridge. There he wrote and studied poetry. He loved the out-doors life and was a capable mountain climber, in pursuit of which he attempted some of the highest peaks in the Himalayas. In 1898 he published his first book of poetry called "Aceldama, A Place to Bury Strangers In", a philosophical poem by a 'Gentleman of the University of Cambridge' in 1898'. In the preface he describes how God and Satan had fought for his soul and states: “God conquered – and now I have only one doubt left – which of the twain was God�
It was while he was at Trinity that Crowley became interested in the occult and with his roommate Allan Bennett, they began to study whatever they could. Crowley soon discovered that he was excited by descriptions of torture and blood. He liked to fantasize about being degraded and abused by a 'Scarlet Women', one who was dominant, wicked and independent.
One of the books he read about this time was by the author 'Arthur Edward Waite', entitled “The Book of Black Magic and of Pactsâ€. It hinted at a secret brotherhood of occultists and Crowley became even more intrigued. He wrote to Waite for more information and was referred to "The Cloud upon the Sanctuary – By Carl von Exkartshausen". This book tells of the 'Great White Brotherhood' and Crowley determined he wanted to join this group and advance to its highest levels. Later that year on the 18th November 1898, he and Bennett both joined the 'Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn', the elusive Great White Brotherhood (see 'S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn').
In 1899 Crowley is reported to have become a member of one of “Old George Pickingill’s†hereditary covens situated in the New Forrest, although apparently he was not welcome for long (see 'Old George Pickingill'). It is alleged that he obtained his 'Second Degree' before being dismissed due to his contemptuous attitude toward women, failure to attend rituals with regularity, his personal ego and sexual perversion (Crowley had a bias toward homosexuality and the bizarre, shocking during his time even amongst witches). The priestess of his coven later described him as “a dirty-minded, evilly-disposed and vicious little monster!â€
As well as being dismissed and outcaste by the New Forrest witches, all was not well within the Golden Dawn. By this time Crowley had moved out of Trinity Collage without earning his degree, and taken a flat in Chancery Lane, London. There he renamed himself 'Count Vladimir' and began to pursue his occult studies on a full-time basis. Crowley had a natural aptitude for magic and advanced quickly through the ranks of the Golden Dawn, but the London lodge leaders considered him unsuitable for advancement into the second order. Crowley went to Paris in 1899 to see 'S.L. MacGregor Mathers', the then head of the Order and insisted that he be initiated into the second Order. Mathers at the time was experiencing growing dissension to his absolute rule from London, and sensed in Crowley an ally. To the consternation of the London lodge he readily agreed to Crowley's request and initiated him into the second order.
However their allegiance was an uneasy, for Mathers like Crowley was a powerful magician and both were intensely competitive. Mathers taught Crowley 'Abra-Melin' magic but neither attained any of the grades of the AA. They quarreled constantly and allegedly engaged in magical warfare. Mathers is said to have sent an astral vampire to attack Crowley who responded with an army of demons led by Beelzebub. In April 1900, Mathers due to problems within the London lodge, dispatched Crowley back to England as his 'Special Envoy' where he made an abortive attempt to regain control. Shortly thereafter both Mathers and Crowley were expelled from the order.
Crowley began to travel, mostly in the East studying Eastern Occult systems and 'Tantric Yoga'; he also studied 'Buddhism' and the 'I Ching'. Then for a time he lived in an isolated setting near to Loch Ness in Scotland. In 1903 he met and then married Rose Kelly, sister of the well-known artist Sir Gerald Kelly. She bore him one child. While they where on holiday in Egypt the following year, April 1904, he and Rose took part in a magical ritual during which he alleges to have received a message from the God's. As a result of this communication he wrote down the first three chapters of his most famous book “Liber Legis, the Book of Lawâ€. This book contains his oft-quoted dictum: “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the Law, Love under Willâ€, upon which Crowley based the rest of his life and teachings.
In 1909 Crowley began to explore levels of the astral plane with his assistant, a poet called “Victor Neubergâ€; they used 'Enochian' magic. Crowley believed he crossed the Abyss and united his consciousness with the universal consciousness. He describes the astral journeys in “The Vision and the Voiceâ€, which was first published in his periodical “The Equinox†and then posthumously in 1949.
Never far from controversy in 1909 through to 1913, Crowley serialized the secret rituals of the Golden Dawn in his magazine 'the Equinox', which he also used as vehicle for his poetry. Mathers who had written most of the rituals and who was still his greatest antagonist, tried but failed to get a legal injunction to stop him. His action only served to gained Crowley more press publicity and notoriety.
By now Crowley was fast becoming infamous as a Black magician and Satanist, he openly identified himself with the number 666, the biblical number for the antichrist. He also kept with him a series of 'Scarlet Women'; the best known of these was Leah Hirsig, the so-called “Ape of Thothâ€. Together they would indulge in drinking sessions, drugs and sexual magic. It is believed that Crowley made several attempts with several of these women to beget a 'Magical child', none of which worked and instead he fictionalized his attempts in a book called “Moonchildâ€, published in 1929.
In 1912 Crowley became involved with the British section of the O.T.O. (the Ordo Temple Orientis or Order of the Temple of the East), a German occult order practicing magic. He then moved and lived in America from 1915 to 1919, moving again in 1920 to Sicily where he established the notorious Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu.
In Sicily he proceeded to involve himself in Italian occultism and in 1922 became the head of the 'Ordo Temple Orientis'. However (as he routinely did) he began to attract more bad publicity. The press denounced him as “The Wickedest Man in the World†because of the alleged satanic goings on in the Abbey. It has now come to light that many of the allegations were false and were no more than press sensationalism. However their effect had serious repercussions for Crowley. In 1923 Mussolini the then ruler of Italy stepped in and expelled him from Sicily.
Crowley wondered around for a while visiting such places as Tunisia and Germany before settling for a time in France. While in France he engaged as his secretary the services of another aspiring magician 'Israel Regardie'. Regardie would later become famous himself and played a prominent role in exposing the complete rituals of the 'Golden Dawn' to the public (see Israel Regardie). Crowley continued to travel around Europe during which time he picked up a growing heroin addiction, a habit he would suffer from for the rest of his life. Back in England in 1929 he met and married his second wife 'Maria Ferrari de Miramar'. The marriage took place in Leipzig, Germany.
In 1932 Crowley met with 'Sybil Leek' another famous witch and became a frequent visitor to her home. Sybil a hereditary witch was only nine years old at the time and later wrote in her autobiography "Diary of a Witch" - (New York: Signet, 1969), that Crowley talked to her about witchcraft. He taught her the words of power and instructed her on the use of certain words for their vibratory qualities when working with magick (see Sybil Leek).
Already notorious and well known to the press, Crowley then became involved in a famous and sensational libel case. In 1934 before Mr. Justice Swift, he sued Nina Hamnett a prominent sculptress. Nina had published a book “Laughing Torso†(Constable and Co., London, 1932) in which Crowley alleged she had libeled him by saying he that the practiced black magic. As the case proceeded the other side produced such evidence of Crowley’s bizarre life-style and scandalous writings (as they were considered at that time), that the justice was horrified. Crowley lost the case and was forced into bankruptcy, much to the delight of the popular press who again had a field day.
In his penultimate year 1946, a mutual friend 'Arnold Crowther' introduced Crowley to 'Gerald B. Gardner'. His meetings with Gardner would later lead to controversy over the authenticity of Gardner’s original 'Book of Shadows'. It was alleged that Gardner paid Crowley to write it for him? But this has now been discounted. While it did contain some of Crowley’s writings, this was the result of Gardner and Crowley comparing notes on rituals used in 'Old George Pickingill’s' covens in the New Forrest area. Doreen Valiente in her book "Witchcraft for Tomorrow†does much to shed light on this controversy.
At the time of his meetings with Gerald Gardner, Crowley was a feeble old man living in retirement at a private hotel in Hastings, barely kept alive by the use of drugs. It was here that he passed from this world into the next on the 1st December 1947. Unrepentant and unbowed he left this world with a final snub at the society that had so misunderstood him, he left instructions that he was to be cremated and instead of the usual religious service, his 'Hymn to Pan' and other extracts from his writings was to be proclaimed from the pulpit. Finally his ashes were to be sent to his disciples in America.
In many ways Aleister Crowley was not a well-liked man, but he influenced and had an effect on the build up to the new era of modern witchcraft. His knowledge of witchcraft and magick was profound and without question, and he has passed on that knowledge through his books. In today’s more liberal society more and more of Crowley’s books are being reprinted as we begin to appreciate his strange genius. Indeed some of his books have now gained classical status. These include: Gnostic Mass and The Book of Law (New York: Samuel Weiser, 1977) from which portions of the well known “Charge of the Goddess†were written by Doreen Valiente. Other books include: Magick in Theory and Practice, 777 And Other Qabalistic Writing and The Book of Thoth to mention just a few.
|
|
DR. GERALD B. GARDNER
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (1884-1964)
Written and compiled by George Knowles.
Gerald Gardner is perhaps one of the best known and talked about figures in modern witchcraft to date. An English hereditary Witch, he was the founder of contemporary Witchcraft practiced as a religion. Some considers him a man of great vision and creativity who had the courage to try outrageous things during difficult times. Others look on him as a con man, deceitful and manipulative. He authored the now famous books “Witchcraft Today†and “The Meaning of Witchcraftâ€, both he wrote in the 1950’s. These two classic books inspired the growth and development of many traditions of modern Witchcraft throughout the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
Gerald Gardner was born on the 13th June 1884 in a small northern town called “Blundellsands†near Liverpool, England. Born of Scottish descent into a well-to-do family, his father was a merchant and justice of the peace. His grandfather is reputed to have married a witch, and he claims others of his distant family had psychic gifts. Gardner believed himself to be a descendant of “Grissell Gairdnerâ€, who was burned as a witch at Newburgh in 1610. Of his ancestors, several became Mayor’s of Liverpool, and one “Alan Gardner†a naval commander, was later made a Peer of the Land, he had distinguished himself as commander in chief of the Channel Fleet and helped to deter the invasion of Napoleon in 1807.
Gardner was the middle of three sons, but was kept distanced from his two brothers as he suffered severely with bouts of asthma. As a result his parents employed a nanny “Josephine 'Com' McCombie" to raise him separately. Com persuaded his parents to allow her to take him traveling during the winter months to help alleviate his condition. Traveling across Europe, Gardner was often left alone to his own devices, but was content to read and study academic subject such as History and Archaeology. Later when he became a young man, his nanny married and went to live with her husband in Ceylon. Gardner went with her and started work on a tea plantation. He then moved on to Borneo and finally settled in Malaysia.
There with his interest in history and archaeology, Gardner became fascinated with the local culture and its religious and magical beliefs. Gardner also had a keen interest in all things occult and was particularly drawn to ritual knives and daggers, especially the Malay “Kris†(a dagger with a wavy blade). He made a name for himself in academic circles with his pioneering research into Malaya’s early civilizations. He also gained respect as an Author, and had some of his writings published in the journal of the Malayan branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. After 20 years of study he wrote his first book on the history and folklore of the Malay called "Keris and other Malay Weapons – Singapore, 1936", and became the world's foremost authority on Malaya's indigenous people and their weapons.
From 1923 until he retired in 1936, Gardner worked as a civil servant for the British government, first as a rubber plantation inspector, then as a customs official and inspector of opium establishments. Gardner made a considerable amount of money in his dealings with rubber, which allowed him to indulge in his favorite pastime, Archaeology. On one expedition he claimed to have found the site of the ancient city of Singapura. In 1927 he met and married an English woman called “Donnaâ€.
Gardner and his new wife aboard his Customs launch on the "Johore River" in Malaya.
After his retirement in Malaya in 1936, Gardner and his wife returned to England and settled in the New Forrest area of Hampshire. Gardner continued to indulge his archaeological interests and spent much of his time traveling around Europe and Asia Minor. In Cyprus he found places he claims to have dreamed about, and was convinced he had lived there in a previous lifetime. In 1939 he wrote and had published his second book, A Goddess Arrives. It was based in Cyprus and concerned the worship of a goddess called “Aphrodite†in the year 1450 B.C.
By now the Second World War was looming and Gardner, anxious to do his piece for King and Country, turn his thoughts to Civil Defense. He wrote a letter publish in the Daily Telegraph stating that, “As decreed in the Magna Carta, every free-born Englishman is entitled to bear arms in the defense of himself and his householdâ€. He further suggested that the civilian population should be armed and trained in the event of invasion. The German press picked up the article and front-page headlines appeared in the "Frankfurter Zeitung", they where furious, raging against the man who had made such a “medieval†suggestion. Shortly thereafter the famous “Home Guard†came into being, known first as the “Local Defense Volunteersâ€. We shall probably never know if the “Magna Carta letter†was the impetus that instigated it?
Having settled in the New Forrest area of Hampshire, one of the oldest forests in England, Gardner began to explore its history. He soon found that local folklore was steeped in Witchcraft, and curiosity ignited he began to seek out involvement. Through neighbors he became acquainted with a local group of occultist Co-masons, a fraternity that called themselves “The Fellowship of Crotonaâ€. A “Mrs. Besant-Scott†the daughter of “Annie Besant†a Theosophist, and founder of the women’s Co-Masonry movement in England, had established it. (The order was affiliated to the Grand Orient of France, and therefore not recognized by the Masonic Grand Lodge of England.). They had built a small community theatre called “The First Rosicrucian Theatre in Englandâ€, and there they used to meet. Gardner joined them and helped to put on amateur plays with occult and spiritual themes.
Within the fellowship another but secret group operated, a member of which spoke to Gardner and claimed to have net him in a previous life, he went on to describe the places Gardner had found in Cyprus. Soon after they drew Gardner into their confidence, claiming to be a group of hereditary Witches practicing a craft passed down to them through the centuries. The group met in the New Forest where he was introduced to “Mrs. Dorothy Clutterbuckâ€. Old Dorothy as she was affectionately known, accepted Gardner for initiation and in September 1939 at her own home, a big house in the neighborhood, and he was initiated into the old religion.
Old Dorothy’s coven was believed to have been the last remains of a coven directly descendant from one of the famed “Nine Coven’s†founded by “Old George Pickingill†some forty years earlier. In the following year 1940, while working with this coven, Gardner claimed to have helped with and took part in the now famous “Coven Ritesâ€, aimed at and against the Nazi High Command and the threatened invasion of Hitler’s forces. This we now know was not true. The “Coven Rites†against Hitler had been orchestrated by “Cecil Williamsonâ€, the founder of the Witchcraft Research Center, and was performed by “Aleister Crowley†the famous occultist. It’s possible though and more probable, that they performed some sort of rite of their own recognizance.
Just before the outbreak of war, Gardner met with Arnold Crowther, a professional stage Magician and Ventriloquist, he and Gardener formed a friendship that would last for many years. It was after the war in 1946, that Gardner first met Cecil Williamson. They met at the famous Atlantis Bookshop in London, where Gardner was giving an informal talk. Gardner had been eager to meet Williamson in order to extend his network of occult contacts. While they would meet frequently thereafter, their relationship was strained and would later end on bad terms. Williamson describes Gardner as a “Vain, self-centered man, tight with his money, and more interested in outlets for his nudist and voyeuristic activities, than in learning anything about authentic witchcraftâ€.
In 1947, his friend Arnold Crowther introduced Gardner to Aleister Crowley. Their brief association would later lead to controversy over the authenticity of Gardner’s original “Book of Shadowsâ€. Crowley had allegedly been a member of one of Old George Pickingill’s original Nine Covens in the New Forest, and Gardner was especially interested in the rituals used by that coven, so to augment the fragmented rituals used by his own. He asked Crowley to write down what he could remember and implement them with other magical materials. Crowley by this time was in poor health and only months away from death, but he acquiesced to Gardner’s request. He also made Gardner an honorary member of the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a Tantric sex magic order at one time under his leadership, and granted him a charter to operate his own lodge. Crowley was also an acquaintance of Cecil Williamson.
In the mean time, Gardner had moved from the New Forrest, to Bricketts Wood, outside St Albans. There he had bought a cottage on the grounds of a nudist club, from where he ran his own lodge. Not having a car or able to drive, Gardner would prevail on Williamson to drive him down to Crowley’s lodgings in Hastings for consultations. Williamson later claimed to have participated as an observer in some of Gardner’s, new lodge activities. The alter he said, was made up of an old “Anderson†air raid table with a metal top, and was used to perform the Great Rite (A rite involving sexual intercourse.). The lodge he say’s, had far more men than women with about 80 to 20 percent splitting the difference, this because many of the women who joined his lodge, didn’t favor the sexual rites. At one point Gardner had to resort to hiring a London prostitute to play-act the role of High Priestess, and engage in the sex act.
Over time Gardner accumulated a vast amount of knowledge on Folklore, Witchcraft, and Magic, and had collected many artifacts and materials on magical procedures and ceremonial magic. Much as he wanted to write about and pass on this knowledge, he was prevented from being too public. Witchcraft was still against the law in England and he was cautioned by Old Dorothy to remain secretive and not to write. Later she reluctantly allowed him to write in the form of fiction. The result was an occult novel called “High Magic’s Aidâ€. It was published in 1949, by “Michael Houghton†who was also known as “Michael Justeâ€, the proprietor of the famous Atlantis Bookshop in London. The book contained the basic ideas for what was later to become “Gardnerian Wiccaâ€.
In 1951 there was a resurgence of belief and new interest shown in the Old Religion, brought on by the repeal of the last antiquated witchcraft laws still being enforced in England. Gardner was now free to go public and breaking away from the New Forest coven, he began to establish his own. This change in the law also made it possible for Cecil H. Williamson to open the famous “Museum of Magic and Witchcraftâ€, (formerly called the Folklore Center) at Castletown in the Isle of Man. Later that year after a dispute with his trust fund, Gardner turned up on his doorstep in financial trouble. Williamson took him in as the museum's director, and soon he became known as the “Resident Witchâ€.
Gardner in front of an exhibit showing in the "Museum of Magic and Witchcraft".
Through his association with the museum, Gardner became acquainted with everyone there was to know in occult circles at that time. His reputation as a leading authority on witchcraft began to spread. A year later in 1952, with his financial problems resolved, Gardner bought the museum buildings together with its display cases from Williamson. Gardner’s collection of artifacts and materials were not as extensive as Williamson’s, and he found that he hadn’t enough objects to fill all the cases. He asked Williamson to loan him some of his talismans and amulets. By now weary, if not openly disliking Gardner, Williamson reluctantly agreed but took the precaution of making plaster casts and imprints of each item. Gardner reopened the museum and operated it on his own.
In 1953 Gardner met “Doreen Valienteâ€, and initiated her into his coven. Doreen proved to be his greatest asset, it was she who helped Gardner rewrite and expand his existing “Book of Shadowsâ€. Collaborating together, they embellished the numerous text and rituals he had collected and claimed to have been passed down to him from the New Forrest Coven. Doreen also weeded out much of Aleister Crowley’s materials on account of his black name, and put more emphasis onto Goddess worship. So it was between them, that Doreen and Gardner established a new working practice, which evolved into what is today one of the leading traditions of the Wicca movement, “Gardnerian Wiccaâ€.
In 1954 Gardner wrote and had published his first non-fiction book on witchcraft, “Witchcraft Todayâ€. In it he supported the theories of anthropologist “Margaret A. Murray†who purported that modern Witchcraft is the surviving remnant of an organized Pagan religion that had existed before the witch-hunts. Murray also wrote the introduction to the book. The book on its release was an immediate success and because of it new covens sprang up all over England, each practicing its dictates. The Gardnerian tradition had been born.
Gardner soon became a media celebrity and courted their attention. He loved being in the spotlight and made numerous public appearances, dubbed by the press as “Britain’s Chief Witchâ€. However not all the publicity was beneficial. Gardner was a keen naturist and his penchant for ritual nudity was incorporated into the new tradition. This caused conflict with other hereditary witches who claimed that they had always worked robed. Many also believed he was wrong to make so much public, what had always been to them considered secret. They believed that so much publicity would eventually harm the craft.
Gardner became difficult to work with, his egotism and publicity seeking tried the patience of his coven members, even that of Valiente, by now his High Priestess. Splits began to develop in his coven over his relentless pursuit of publicity. He also insisted on using what he claimed were “ancient†Craft laws that gave dominance to the God over the Goddess. The final revolt happened when he declared that the High Priestess should retire when he considered her to old. In 1957, Doreen Valiente and others members having had enough of the gospel according to Gardner, left and went their separate ways. Undaunted, Gardner continued on, he wrote and had published his last book “The Meaning of Witchcraft†in 1959.
In May of the following year 1960, Gardner was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, this in recognition of his distinguished civil service work in the Far East. A few weeks later on the 6th June, he initiated Patricia Dawson into his coven and she in turn initiated his old friend Arnold Crowther. On the 8th November, Patricia and Arnold were married in a private handfasting, officiated by Gardner, and followed the next day with a civil ceremony. That same year his devoted wife Donna died. While she had never taken part in the craft or his activities within it, she had remained his loyal companion for 33 years. Gardner was devastated and began to suffer once more his childhood affliction of asthma.
In 1962, Gardner started to correspond with an Englishman in America, “Raymond Bucklandâ€. Buckland would later be responsible for introducing the Gardnerian tradition into the United States. They met 1963 in Perth, Scotland, at the home of Gardner’s then High Priestess, “Monique Wilson†(Lady Olwen). Monique initiated Buckland into the craft, just shortly before Gardner left to vacation the winter months in the Lebanon. Gardner would never get to see the impact of his tradition in America. Returning by ship from his vacation, Gardner suffered a fatal heart attack. On the 12th February 1964, he died at the breakfast table on board ship. The following day he was buried on shore in Tunis, his funeral attended only by the Captain of the vessel he had traveled on.
In his will, Gardner bequeathed the museum in Castletown to his High Priestess, Monique Wilson, together with all its artifacts, his personal ritual tools, notebooks, and copyrights to his books. Monique and her husband continued to run the museum, and hold weekly coven meetings in Gardner’s old cottage, - but only for a short time. When they could, they closed the museum down and sold its contents to the “Ripley’s, Believe It Or Not†organization in America. They in turn dispersed the many artifacts amongst its various museums, some they sold on to private collections. Many of Gardner’s supporters were dismayed, even angered by these events and Monique was forced from grace as High Priestess. Other beneficiaries of Gardner’s estate were Patricia and Arnold Crowther (his old friends), and “Jack L. Bracelin†the author of his biography written in 1960 entitled, “Gerald Gardner: Witchâ€.
|
ISRAEL REGARDIE
Israel Regardie (1907 – 1985)
Written and compiled by George Knowles.
Francis Israel Regardie was an occultist, author and one time secretary to the legendary Aleister Crowley. As an adept of the now defunct secret order known as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, he became infamous among the occultists of his day for breaking his oath of secrecy and publishing the order’s complete rituals in his book “The Golden Dawnâ€. Today this book is a classic best seller and has been revised and re-issued several times. Overshadowed by his association with Crowley, much of his work has been left unappreciated by those outside of the realms of high magic and occultism.
Regardie was born Francis Israel Regudy in London, England on the 17th November 1907. His parents were poor Jewish immigrants and during the course of WW1 when his older brother joined the army, his name was accidentally written down as “Regardieâ€. Rather than change it, it was then adopted as the family name. Later Regardie also dropped the use of Francis, preferring to be known simply as Israel Regardie.
In August 1921 at the age of 13, his family immigrated to the United States and settled in Washington D.C. There Regardie was educated and studied art in schools in Washington and Philadelphia. A bright an intuitive scholar, even at that age, he became interested in the theosophical works of Madame Blavatsky, yoga, and Hindu philosophy. He would often be found at the Library of Congress conducting his own studies. Soon after he found a Hebrew tutor who taught him to read Hebrew, an ability that aided him enormously when he started his Qabalistic studies.
On the 18th February 1926, Regardie applied for membership to the Washington College of the Societas Rosicruciana in America (S.R.I.A.). He was initiated into the Neophyte grade on 18th March 1926 and advanced to the Zelator grade on 2nd June 1927. It was during this time that Regardie became interested in occultism and having discovered a book by Aleister Crowley, was soon captivated by his activities and writings.
Regardie wrote to Crowley in Paris and eventually received a reply. Soon after he was offered the job as his secretary in Paris. Regardie saw this as an opportunity to learn magic from a published authority, and in October 1928 he traveled to France and accepted the job. For the next three years Regardie tried to get Crowley to teach him the magical arts. However Crowley never offered and Regardie, a reserved and modest young man, did not pursue the matter. Instead he continued to study on his own, reading every book, article or manuscript that became available to him.
As would happen with Crowley, fueled on by the British tabloids, his reputation got the better of him and the French authorities asked him to leave the country. Crowley returned to England and later married his second wife Maria Ferrari de Miramar in 1929. In an effort to repair Crowley's damaged image, Regardie co-authored with P.R. Stephenson (another of Crowley’s associates), the book called “The Legend of Aleister Crowley “. It was published in 1930, by which time they were gradually drifting apart.
Regardie continued with his occult studies and already established as a co-author, published the first of his own books A Garden of Pomegranates and The Tree of Life in 1932. The first contained his Qabalistic studies and was based on research and knowledge gleaned from various sources. The Tree of Life however was based on the teachings of the Golden Dawn, which had ceased to exist in 1903. When published it caused a lot of excitement among the occult elite and was considered one of the most complete and understandable texts on practical magic ever written. That same year 1932 he became secretary to Thomas Burke.
Although the original Golden Dawn had ceased to exist, it continued to live on through its descendant orders, the Stella Matutina and the Alpha et Omega. As a result of The Tree of Life and with the encouragement and assistance of one of its members, Dion Fortune, Regardie was invited to join the Stella Matutina in 1933. However as had happened to the original order, there was much infighting among its leaders and the order was in an advanced state of decline. Regardie due to his extraordinary abilities made rapid progress through the grades, but considered the chiefs to be more concerned with attaining grandiose titles than with the practice of magic. He also concluded that the Order and its teachings would not survive much longer without some effort to place its teachings in the hands of a greater number of people, those who could appreciate them. After reaching the grade of Theoricus Adeptus Minor, he left the Order in December of 1934.
That same year in 1934, Aleister Crowley became embroiled in a famous and sensational libel case in which he sued Nina Hamnett, a prominent sculptress. Losing the case he was forced into bankruptcy and could no longer afford to keep Regardie on as his secretary. As a result, and as would happen with many of Crowley’s friends and associates, they suffered a complete falling out. Regardie was deeply wounded by the break-up of their friendship, and was only able to pardon him in later years. Regardie throw himself into his work writing The Art of True Healing, and doing his groundwork for The Philosopher’s Stone.
Regardie next turned his attention to psychology and psychotherapy, and began studying psychoanalysis with Dr. E. Clegg and Dr. J. L. Bendit in London. He also continued writing and in 1936 published My Rosicrucian Adventure followed by The Philosopher's Stone, a book about alchemy from a Jungian perspective. At the time he didn’t believe in the validity of laboratory alchemy, (but later in the 1970’s while working with practical alchemists such as Frater Albertus of the Paracelsus Research Society, he changed his mind on the matter. Unfortunately one of his alchemical experiments went wrong and he seriously burned his lungs in the lab. He gave up the practice of alchemy and suffered from the effects of the accident until the end of his life).
In 1937 breaking his oath of secrecy to the Stella Matutina, he published the bulk of the Golden Dawn's rituals and teachings. Written in four volumes he called it simply The Golden Dawn. It caused a storm of protest at the time and some people openly criticized him for his actions, although many Adepts of the Order were secretly grateful to him. His reasons for doing so he explains in his book My Rosicrucian Adventure: "...it is essential that the whole system should be publicly exhibited so that it may not be lost to mankind, for it is the heritage of every man and woman and their spiritual birthright. My motives have been to prove without a doubt that no longer is the Order the ideal medium for the transmission of Magic, and that since there have already been several partial and irresponsible disclosures of the Order’s teachings, a more adequate presentation of that system is urgently called for. Only thus may the widespread misconceptions as to Magic be removed."
Later that year Regardie returned to the U.S. where he entered the Chiropractic College in New York City to study psychology. Studying psychotherapy under Dr. Nandor, his training encompassed Freudian, Jungian, and Reichian methods and techniques. A year later in 1938 he published The Middle Pillar, which gives a step-by-step account on how to perform the practical exercises of Golden Dawn’s ceremonial magic. In the same book he also compares these magical techniques to the methods and hypotheses of psychoanalysis. He sought to remove the synthetic walls that had been erected between magic and psychotherapy.
After graduating in 1941, Regardie served in the U.S. Army till the end of WWII, during which time he explored Christian mysticism and wrote about his ideas in The Romance of Metaphysics published in 1946. After leaving the army he relocated to southern California and set up practice as a chiropractor and Reichian therapist. He taught psychiatry at the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic and contributed articles to various psychology magazines. He also wrote several more books including: The Art and Meaning of Magic, Roll Away the Stone, Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment, A Practical Guide to Geomantic Divination, How to Make and Use Talismans, and Foundations of Practical Magic. During the 1960's an old acquaintance of Aleister Crowley moved into Los Angeles and made herself known to him. They met occasionally for he and Sybil Leek had much to reminisced about the great man.
Through out his career, Regardie’s own achievements were often overshadowed by his association with Aleister Crowley, which often frustrated him, but his charitable nature and his ability to be forgiving toward his old friend was evident when he authored perhaps the most definitive biography on Crowley called The Eye in the Triangle. But he was also irritated when people linked him solely to Crowley’s teachings. “One of his pet hates was people associating him with Crowley’s brand of Thelemic Magic and the Book of the Law. I can still recall him thumping the table at dinner one night saying ‘Dammit, I’m a Golden Dawn man and not a Thelemite, and I wish people would realize it.’ writes Pat Zalewski author of The Secret Inner Order Rituals of the Golden Dawn.â€
Regardie retired from his practice in 1981 and moved to Sedona, Arizona where he continued to write. His later books included Ceremonial Magic, The Lazy Man's Guide to Relaxation, and The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic. While retired he continued to give advice on health and magical matters until the end of his life. He died of a heart attack on the 10th March 1985 while having dinner with friends at one of his favorite restaurants. Although he is gone, his legacy remains in his written works, which continue to teach and inspire new generations of students.
One of Regardie’s primary objectives throughout his career had been to preserve the teachings of the Golden Dawn, but he had also set himself another task. As an Adept of the Golden Dawn, he felt it was down to him to bring a valid branch of the initiatory lineage of the order to America. He waited patiently for four decades before he was able to achieve his goal. A couple in Georgia were inspired to build a Rosicrucian Vault, the powerful ritual chamber required to pass on the Adept Initiation. At the same time two magicians (one on the east coast of the United States and one on the west coast), unknown to each other or to the Georgia couple, came to be ready to receive that Initiation. Regardie was the connecting link between them and using his title and order motto A. M. A. G. he had the right to confer the Initiation in such a Vault. And so in one remarkable weekend, Regardie presided over two Initiations into the Inner Order, the first and the last that he ever performed, and with the following oath the Lamp of the Keryx was passed into American hands:
“I further promise and swear that with the Divine Permission, I will from this day forward, apply myself to the Great Work, which is: to purify and exalt my Spiritual Nature so that with the Divine Aid I may at length attain to be more than human, and thus gradually raise and unite to my Higher and Divine Genius, and that in this event I will not abuse the great power entrusted to me.â€
Regardie's Order Motto
A.M.A.G. - Ad Majorem Adonai Gloriam - “To the Greater Glory of Godâ€
|
|
RAYMOND BUCKLAND
Raymond Buckland (1934 -)
Written and compiled by George Knowles
Raymond Buckland, Englishman, prolific Author and Witch. He is probably best known as an agent of Gerald B. Gardner. It was Buckland who was responsible for introducing Gardnerian Witchcraft into America in 1964. He is also the founder of his own tradition of Witchcraft called Seax-Wica, and for a time operated his own Museum of Witchcraft in America. He has been a leading spokesman for the Craft in America for more than three decades.
Buckland was born in London, England, on the 31st August 1934. His father came from a line of Gypsies, which means Buckland himself is a half-blooded Gypsy or in their terminology a 'poshrat'. He was brought up in the Church of England but when he was 12 years old, an uncle introduced him into Spiritualism and the occult. Over time this interest would evolve to include Witchcraft and Magic.
Educated at King’s Collage School in London, Buckland then studied at Brantridge Forest Collage in Sussex, earning a doctorate in anthropology. In 1955 he met and married his first wife Rosemary before serving a short term in the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1957 to 1959. In 1962 he and Rosemary immigrated to the United States. They settled in Brentwood, Long Island, where Buckland went to work for British Airways, then known as BOAC.
Buckland’s interest in Spiritualism and the occult had continued to this time, but he felt there was something missing. Within a short period of time two books came into his possession that would greatly influence his life and beliefs, 'The Witch-Cult In Western Europe' by Margaret A. Murray and 'Witchcraft Today' by Gerald B. Gardner. Until reading these two books, Buckland had never looked upon Witchcraft as a religion, but now he realized he had found what he felt was missing. He contacted Gerald Gardner in the Isle of Man and soon began a long-distance mail and telephone friendship with him. As their friendship matured Buckland became Gardner’s spokesman in the United States and whenever Gardner received a query from the U.S. it was forwarded to and answered by Buckland.
In 1963 Buckland and Gardner came together for their first and only physical meeting. They met at the home of Monique Wilson (Gardner’s - High Priestess) in Perth, Scotland. The occasion was for Buckland’s initiation which was performed by Monique. Rosemary was initiated separately sometime later. Shortly after the meeting Gardner left to vacation the winter in the Lebanon. While returning aboard ship on the 14th February 1964, Gardner suffered a heart attack. He was buried on shore the following day in Tunis.
In America interest in Witchcraft was catching on quickly, but Buckland built his coven slowly and with caution. There were many that wanted to become Gardnerian Witches who felt that Buckland was being over cautious, those who didn’t want to wait for initiation simply went away and started their own covens. Buckland persisted; he wanted only those with a genuine interest in the craft as a religion. Initially Buckland was secretive and kept his name and address from the press, but eventually it was published and this focused attention on him as a leading authority and spokesman of the craft.
In imitation of Gardner’s Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in the Isle of Man and perhaps inspired by it, Buckland began to collect artefacts and pieces for his own museum. He called it the First Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in the United States. His collection started in a bookcase, and then as it grew it took over the basement of their house and eventually had to be housed in a separate building.
Buckland started to write about witchcraft in 1968, and in 1969 he published his first book 'A Pocket Guide to the Supernatural'. He followed it in 1970 with 'Witchcraft Ancient and Modern' and 'Practical Candleburning Rituals'. That same year he wrote his first novel 'Mu Revealed' under the pseudonym of 'Tony Earll', an anagram for 'not really'. Writing became a passion for Buckland and he wanted more time to devote to it. By 1973 his collection of artefacts had grown large enough for him to occupy a rented building. He quit his job with BOAC and opened the museum proper, running it himself while at the same time writing full-time.
That same year his marriage to Rosemary broke up and they handed the leadership of their coven over to 'Theos and Phoenix', who became the local Gardnerian High Priest and Priestess of Long Island. Buckland moved to New Hampshire where he reopened his museum and later married 'Joan Helen Taylor'. At about the same time he decided to leave the Gardnerian tradition feeling it no longer met his religious needs. He was also fed-up with the egotism and power trips exhibited by others within the craft. He developed and founded a new tradition called Seax-Wica. He based it on a Saxon heritage and made it more open and democratic.
In the early eighties he and Joan moved on to Virginia and established the Seax-Wica Seminary. This was a correspondence school that grew to have more than 1,000 students worldwide. They had plans to build a campus for it, but these fell through due to lack of funds. After nearly 10 years of marriage together working and building the school, their marriage deteriorated and finally broke down leading to divorce.
Buckland next met and married 'Tara Cochan' of Cleveland. Together they moved to Charlottesville in Virginia, where they re-established the seminary school and set up a publishing company called 'Taray Publications'. In December 1984 they moved again this time to San Diego, where they phased out the seminary correspondence course. By this time the Seax-Wica tradition was well established worldwide.
In 1992 after more than a quarter of a century working in and leading the craft in America, Buckland decided to retire from active participation. He moved his family to a small farmstead in north central Ohio. There except for occasional public appearances, he’s content to practice as a solitary. As well as Seax-Wica, Buckland also practices Pecti-Wita, a Scottish tradition inspired by an 'Aidan Breac' and which Buckland helped to develop (see the 'Note' below).
Buckland was a much sought after authority on the occult, magic and the supernatural. He was a prolific and diverse writer covering such subjects as mystery and fantasy fiction, screenplays, divination systems, spiritualism and metaphysical nonfictions. He has averaged more than one book a year over the last thirty years. He has also written numerous magazine and newspaper articles, television scripts for the ITV’s 'The Army Game', a pilot script 'Sly Digs', for the BBC and for a short time was the personal scriptwriter for the English comedian 'Ted Lane'. He served as technical adviser for the Orson Welles movie 'Necromancy', and worked with 'The Exorcist' director William Friedkin on a stage production of 'Macbeth'.
As well as writing Buckland his appeared in public promoting the craft all across America, he has been seen on BBC-TV in England, the RAI-TV in Italy and the CBC-TV in Canada. He has also appeared extensively on stage in England as an actor and played small role character parts in moves in America. Buckland was also a distinguished teacher on craft subjects and has taught courses at New York State University, Hofstra University, New Hampshire Technical Collage, as well as work for Hampton Virginia City Council. Without doubt Buckland can be considered amongst the top of America’s leading Witches and his contribution to the revival of Witchcraft in America is perhaps without equal.
|
TIMOTHY LEARY
TIMOTHY LEARY(1920-1996) |
|
Free
|
|
