Cults Wars
The Theosophical Society, co-founded by Madame Blavatsky (1831-1891), introduced the notion that the evolution of mankind was governed by a chosen elect known as the ‘brotherhood’. The
Ukraine-born spiritualist believed the occult and science worked in tandem, and the occult was simply accessing realms that science had yet to conquer. Not surprisingly, her arrival in London in 1887 created quite a stir and she promptly initiated W.B. Yeats, one of the foremost literary figures of the 20th century, as well as Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and even Thomas Edison. Despite its success at displacing Victorian spiritualism, the Theosophical Society had its own competition, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose first temple, IsisUrania, was created by Samuel Liddell Mathers in 1888, and which conducted its first tomb-based rituals at Thavies Inn, off Holborn Circus. The ritual was said to have included the enactment of the death and rebirth of Christian Rosencreuz,the founder of the Rosicrucian Order. The Golden Dawn was alleged to have been based on rituals contained in a coded ‘cipher manuscript’. Others believed it was a ruse to compete with the Theosophical Society. Regardless, the Golden Dawn grew rapidly, converting 50 members in its first year and another 250 in its second, before starting to implode into more offshoots than Clapham Station has train tracks. Aleister Crowley was initiated as the group began to fragment into various offshoots, such as the Alpha et Omegawhich formed in around 1900. Crowley had a fierce reputation as an occultist and his own mother believed him to be the Anti-Christ of the Apocalypse and the ‘Great Beast’. Crowley studied at Cambridge before moving to a flat at 67 & 69 Chancery Lane in London, where his occult studies flourished with the help of a mentor by the name of Allan Bennett, who introduced him to Buddhism. Here the two men sought to perform the ‘Abramelin Operation’, an intense six-month ritual designed to conjure the Holy Guardian Angel. One account suggests that Crowley succeeded, for he is said to have returned home one night only to find his door open and‘semimaterialised beings’ marching around his flat. Crowley had his hands in all sorts of secret traditions, and despite his Masonic involvement elsewhere in Europe, the United Grand Lodge of England denied him admission.Another famous occultist of the 20th century was Dion
Fortune, who left Alpha et Omega and joined another Golden Dawn derivative, the Stella Matutina (Morning Star), a group originally known as the Mystic Rose or Order of the M R in the Outer. Fortune left because she feared she was under psychic attack, and proceeded to write the definitive book on psychic and occult protection. In 1924 she formed her own cult, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, which met in Primrose Hill.
In 1960 the French poet and occultist Jean Cocteau, an alleged Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, visited the Church of Notre Dame de France in Leicester Square. Here, he created a mural (centre left) dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which features a Black Sun and references layer upon layer
of veiled knowledge.The year 2000 came and went, with the only homage to the millennium being the creation of a ‘dome’ (now called the ‘O2’), which was nestled in one of the curvatures of the serpent Thames. However, the previous year, 1999, had seen the creation of an even more esoterically potent edifice, the London Eye (bottom left). This huge, slow-moving Ferris wheel amusement ride stands majestically on the banks of the Thames. The structure dominates the landscape, recalling many occult circular symbols, from the zen-like concepts of completeness and wholeness, to the brutal death of heretics upon the Catherine Wheel. It also includes a brazen Masonic compass in its centre, as well as being named after another ancient occult symbol, the all-seeing eye. The ‘Eye’ became a powerful part of the landscape in a very short period of time and one that is colourfully lit during special occasions, such as
New Year’s Eve. Fast forward to 2012 and the London
Olympics, whose logo inexplicably resembles the word ‘Zion’ and whose stadium sits amidst symbolically named streets. One wonders how much invisible influence occult powers may have in Parliament. The foundations of London’s occult traditions run wide and deep and represent a microcosm of the esoteric tradition the world over. If history is any indication, it is unlikely these traditions will fade any time soon, although they may move underground, much the same as London’s forgotten rivers, in order to survive.
Ukraine-born spiritualist believed the occult and science worked in tandem, and the occult was simply accessing realms that science had yet to conquer. Not surprisingly, her arrival in London in 1887 created quite a stir and she promptly initiated W.B. Yeats, one of the foremost literary figures of the 20th century, as well as Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and even Thomas Edison. Despite its success at displacing Victorian spiritualism, the Theosophical Society had its own competition, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, whose first temple, IsisUrania, was created by Samuel Liddell Mathers in 1888, and which conducted its first tomb-based rituals at Thavies Inn, off Holborn Circus. The ritual was said to have included the enactment of the death and rebirth of Christian Rosencreuz,the founder of the Rosicrucian Order. The Golden Dawn was alleged to have been based on rituals contained in a coded ‘cipher manuscript’. Others believed it was a ruse to compete with the Theosophical Society. Regardless, the Golden Dawn grew rapidly, converting 50 members in its first year and another 250 in its second, before starting to implode into more offshoots than Clapham Station has train tracks. Aleister Crowley was initiated as the group began to fragment into various offshoots, such as the Alpha et Omegawhich formed in around 1900. Crowley had a fierce reputation as an occultist and his own mother believed him to be the Anti-Christ of the Apocalypse and the ‘Great Beast’. Crowley studied at Cambridge before moving to a flat at 67 & 69 Chancery Lane in London, where his occult studies flourished with the help of a mentor by the name of Allan Bennett, who introduced him to Buddhism. Here the two men sought to perform the ‘Abramelin Operation’, an intense six-month ritual designed to conjure the Holy Guardian Angel. One account suggests that Crowley succeeded, for he is said to have returned home one night only to find his door open and‘semimaterialised beings’ marching around his flat. Crowley had his hands in all sorts of secret traditions, and despite his Masonic involvement elsewhere in Europe, the United Grand Lodge of England denied him admission.Another famous occultist of the 20th century was Dion
Fortune, who left Alpha et Omega and joined another Golden Dawn derivative, the Stella Matutina (Morning Star), a group originally known as the Mystic Rose or Order of the M R in the Outer. Fortune left because she feared she was under psychic attack, and proceeded to write the definitive book on psychic and occult protection. In 1924 she formed her own cult, the Fraternity of the Inner Light, which met in Primrose Hill.
In 1960 the French poet and occultist Jean Cocteau, an alleged Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, visited the Church of Notre Dame de France in Leicester Square. Here, he created a mural (centre left) dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which features a Black Sun and references layer upon layer
of veiled knowledge.The year 2000 came and went, with the only homage to the millennium being the creation of a ‘dome’ (now called the ‘O2’), which was nestled in one of the curvatures of the serpent Thames. However, the previous year, 1999, had seen the creation of an even more esoterically potent edifice, the London Eye (bottom left). This huge, slow-moving Ferris wheel amusement ride stands majestically on the banks of the Thames. The structure dominates the landscape, recalling many occult circular symbols, from the zen-like concepts of completeness and wholeness, to the brutal death of heretics upon the Catherine Wheel. It also includes a brazen Masonic compass in its centre, as well as being named after another ancient occult symbol, the all-seeing eye. The ‘Eye’ became a powerful part of the landscape in a very short period of time and one that is colourfully lit during special occasions, such as
New Year’s Eve. Fast forward to 2012 and the London
Olympics, whose logo inexplicably resembles the word ‘Zion’ and whose stadium sits amidst symbolically named streets. One wonders how much invisible influence occult powers may have in Parliament. The foundations of London’s occult traditions run wide and deep and represent a microcosm of the esoteric tradition the world over. If history is any indication, it is unlikely these traditions will fade any time soon, although they may move underground, much the same as London’s forgotten rivers, in order to survive.
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