The Alchemist of the Golden Dawn

56 Pages·2007·5.08 MB·English

by  Ellic Howe

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Bythesame author:
ASTROLOGY AND THE THIRD REICH Ibe
THE MAGICIANS OF THE GOLDEN DAWN
MASONIC UNDERWORLDS (in progress) 1llebemist of
Alsointhisseries:
THE MAGICAL MASON:Forgotten HermeticWritings of tbe Golden 'Dawn
W. W.Westcott
EditedbyR.A. Gilbert
THE ROSICRUCIAN SEER:TheMagical Work of
FrederickHockley (Lhe tetters of the1IVd (1.11.l1Jton to
EditedbyJohnHamill
1.t.Gardnerand tithers 1886-19~6
THE SORCERER AND HIS APPRENTICE: Unknown
HermeticWritings ofS. L.MacGregorMathersand
J.
W. Brodie-Innes
EditedbyR.A. Gilbert
Editedwith an Introduction by
Ellie Howe
THEAQUARIAN PRESS
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
9
THE LETTERS 19
IndexofPersons
III
INTRODUCTION
THE REVD WILLIAM ALEXANDER AYTON and his wife
both joined the Hermetic Orderofthe Golden Dawn (hereafter,
the G.D.) in July 1888, about four months after Dr William
Wynn Westcott, a London coroner, founded the Order. Ayton
was, in fact, Westcott's twentieth recruit. W. B.Yeats, who first
encountered him not long after he himselfbecame a member of
the Order in March 1890, described him (although without
identifying him by name) in his autobiographical The Trembling
oftheVeil (1922, p. 70) asawhite-haired old clergyman whowas
'the most panic-stricken person' he had ever known. Samuel
Liddell Mathers (who later called himself Count de Glenstrae
or CountMacGregor), with Westcott aco-founderofthe G.D.,
presented him to Yeats with the words: 'He unites us to the
great adepts ofthe past.' Yeats continued:
Thisold man tookme aside that he might say- 'I hope younever
invokespirits- that isaverydangerous thing to do.1amtoldthat
even the planetary spirits turn upon us in the end.' 1said, 'Have
you ever seen an apparition?' 'Oh yes, once', he said. 'I have my
alchemical laboratory in a cellar under my house where the
Bishop cannot see it. One day 1waswalking up and down there
when 1heard another footstep walkingup and down beside me. 1
turned and sawa girl1had been in lovewithwhen 1wasayoung
man, but she died long ago. She wanted me to kissher. Oh no, 1
would not do that.' 'Why not?' 1said. 'Oh she might have got
power overme'. 'Hasyour alchemical research had anysuccess?'
Facsimile of letter 7 (see page 28ff.)
10 TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn Introduction II
Isaid. 'Yes, Ionce made the elixiroflife.AFrenchalchemistsaid but it at least provided him with a modest stipend (£300 per
it had the right smell and the right colour' (the alchemist may annum at Chacombe) and sufficient leisure for his strictly
have been Eliphas Levi, who visited England in the 'sixties, and private interests. In the Victorian era the Church of England
would have said anything). offered a refuge for many young men who had no aptitude for
commerce and a passage in one of Ayton's letters suggests that
Ayton's letters indicate that he had aformidable knowledge of hewasalreadypreoccupiedwith alchemyand occultism atabout
alchemical and occult literature, which he could read in the the time he left Cambridge.
original Latin texts, also that he experimented with alchemical He was initiated as a Freemason in Stjohn's Lodge No. 601
procedures. They appear, too, to reflect a feeling of guilt that a at Wellington, Shropshire, shortly before his fiftieth birthday in
beneficed clergyman of the Church of England should engage 1866, when he was Perpetual Curate at Oakengates, a nearby
himselfin such unconventional pursuits: he wasafraid, as Yeats village. However, when he moved to Edingale, yet another
mentioned, that hisbishop would discoverwhat wasgoingon in village not far from Tamworth in Staffordshire in 1868, he did
his cellar. not bother to join the local lodge (Marmion No. 1060 at
As we will discover, Ayton - Frater Virtute Orta Occident Tamworth) until 1871. Again, when he arrived at Chacombe in
Rarius ('Those that rise by virtue rarely fall') in the G.D.; his 1873 two years passed before he joined Cherwell Lodge No.
wifewasSoror Quam Potero Adjutabo ('Iwillhelp asmuch asI 599 at Banbury in 1875. He was its Master in 1878 but ceased
can') - had many bees in his clerical bonnet, including an to attend meetings after April 188I, although he remained at
obsessive fear ofthe machinations of'the B.B.', i.e., the Black Chacombe for another thirteen years. Evidently his interest in
Brethren (Iesuitsl), and a trusting belief in the authenticity of conventional Freemasonry was not very great, although at one
Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's Mahatmas, her and the time oranotherhewasamemberofChurchillLodge No. 478 at
Theosophical Society's invisible Secret Chiefs. He believed, Oxford (joined 187I) and Westminster and Keystone Lodge
too, in Elementals (nature spirits) and the dangerous territory No. 10 (London) in 1872.
inhabited by 'the gnomes'. By any standard of assessment the Working the United Grand Lodge of England's more or less
Vicar of Chacombe, a small village(population c. 450) close to standard Emulation Ritual cannot have been very exciting for
Banburyin the county and diocese ofOxford, wasastrange and someone who had actually manufactured the elixir of life. 'A
remarkable man. French alchemist said it had the right smell and the right colour
W. A. Ayton, the son ofWilliam Capon Ayton, was born in ...,' he told W. B. Yeats, 'but the first effect ofthe elixiristhat
the Bloomsbury district of London on 28 April 18I6, and was your nails fallout and your hair fallsoff.Iwasafraid that Imight
therefore in his 73rd year when he joined the G.D. in 1888. have made a mistake and that nothing else might happen, so I
(Westcott was then forty and Mathers thirty-four.) He was putitawayon ashelf. Imeanttodrink itwhen Iwasan old man,
educated at Charterhouse School in the City of London (long but when I got it down the other day it had all dried up.'
before it moved to more salubrious surroundings in Surrey in After his retirement (onaminute pension) in 1894he and his
1872) and matriculated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 1837 wife moved to a village in the East Grinstead, Sussex, district.
(Scholar, LatinPrize Essay 1838-9, BA1841).He wasordained After her death (c. July 1898) he lived briefly in the vicinity of
deacon inthe latter year and priest in 1843. He served invarious Dartford, Kent, and wasfor atime in the Shepherd's Bush area
rural parishes in the north Midlands before he was appointed in London 1900) before finally moving to Saffron Walden,
VicarofChacombe in 1873 (aet. 57).Whether or not he had any Hertfordshire, where he died on I January 1909 (aet. 92).
particularvocation for the priesthood is amatter for conjecture, With a very few exceptions Ayton's surviving letters (about
TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn Introduaion 13
12
sLaenevdiegnNhtyoGviaenrmdabnleel)rr 1w(h9ei0rs5ej.uwTnihroietrtyebnayretfoowrttoyhreytheymarous)fchpbuetbywloieuceanntgioeMrn,aFIrrcbehdele1ire8iv8ce9k, tmthraeeveetnilencgteoss.sWaLroy.nBMd.oYanseoanftosicrwqathuseaallisfMoicneattoirtoonapomalnietdamnlbeefCrtobthleleceagTues'hseeohqseuoalparhcteikcrelaydl
because they throw additional light upon the notable expansion Society when he joined the G.D. in March 1890.
JoM1CtHcAuhfo8i.de.atn8yrdgiv7enPEaeie.tmn..wersTtrehs1aSeWoe8ssiign7tnBlahei5nitlatitIt.eanhedlntvAeetda,frpiotLroasuecwu,wkoccbnynhaupiltidlodluhcltseeoibedsdinhltCmnitaslttboehdehirldertewoasednnbTshpecetihh'lehceriieerhnnswmHomGsOaebaoaosnnrecrnpekcfgerehouayanalirtbnttcmollOBayeWfelwrldcioMSithornaaotletcihdatcnnc.rdLioeeaauSoeuttnmnyhinndxytedteiitelnyoWamn1oBrNys8ifelyle8alelasawivaIsrtatesartemrwlrtYryasiloahnkboQtuegyuirennske'trs ywmbaGLFesyroeooaearndvrdetdeochefdollrmeoepinurtchaoknkii1andntin8hlneLyd7eSdea0cwriShwghesrothciaiosoebtsctnleeGoktctnawlhbaay,terrun-odHwsdknesseaamoeevmsrnrea'G,smblloloaootepofrsrfredtnfsoaidwnmcncieehGknirtoba(hum1crcf.no.c8i1nlkoH5sA8eiu7inr7nsywsg5ttabafoa-tifun8nsrirtsrH6'.symt)eieagT.dsamruhunhHerbcpdaeveualiooitrvnfemyyfiadnmCmtaihgrnehieranliliysteentlwatdotwhtterithacteraihdneskrs
psgrteharataehdnneegorremisncegornsef,aw'hahtanehndadctyos,fenittlilasenntdurdaeSndiag,nen'ftreehctwetl'a,saimvsdterrsaro'y:wlo'iIgfneegrwresrm,oooetnhmmleyb,ametroeTfvshmeterheyoersiwosmtepslh,olitttclhheaeeyl Jcrc.oeo1scnH8eot8pirrsod5hl·ploweafdraessbentaythsneScweimlesvreeehdrebilSuodmttaha.rt''aOtd-hdnetiihcroteenhdeloamttotoceecrsapiwnsiriaoi1tsnu8na7'lFo8is.-Ldm9o.Gwuanbh.dtewnohanesaemscloeiafgrdthatehtilneay
sDaoaTtcphlnc.ahtiIeWcderTw8euirot9dnhnlhuhts2oaeeiaoeitos)lnninpmimrvwschWet1taeeihb8jcgreoata8earowstrs8olitertcliuSdytheetohphodcetesooocrt.iuuftin"nofetiTtottthtyeehutheahndneewnedodeyfaeWsearGsdodorHlp.emoyiDsthtpihtnim.eteWecodnrwaaunHbellateseosehtSocmraeacormorllseclmoteemtiBwse'cteseiutbrhtclyeideyfoc;trrdO-isgwaeQhiunrnniiodaassddfbhretfsdaaehrtheecdliioigdnletsefh.ttmoatGilthcyheje.-esoDntecritxSGnha.scod.ooi(lciotuutl,iTlisdpeobihtevnouatneoe,sft pwbhTLgcscoaeiuhoimrsgulienilsdinpodenntettosssoloseo:'nwkmsop-.'snvMheuoe'HisaswRrcrsneeaaetGdglihtdtphee.atrreSWreiImdesosnMdneeccderreidiahviaearbihalet'nulybsavdsmhlteMeme'wtdn.wwacaohhhHosoteio'uansnetstlomdhomlwaedwMatneaaoyntnsiasoesiudnofxunKaeoanpimstfmeodehteploeeieosdntat,hfptbHhieBemtfeehiorlfieaaenoowdvnwmfrmaleyiiulst.itlsheewhkIs-alnfvythnacrMeaodneesnwnajrbdagrorayruGitiwsitnhtmvioaeenee'rmadsngddwpk.anttiiithhrnseiiIieecnhgtrt
wwRiiCannnohaocdssirl1clieSe8chaNgr9esuwec2iencsr,waeigsa(wctlinaeya.arexasyse.tc,lsilenGnobuotrseAeauitnvrnnpieeaccgorlhlnyaMeielaMq,s,aTu)aaksiylosivntnnohnaoenolitwec.hiucnneg.tAlhotpToofdrthfhogeteaerhveebilSneb1e.aicu8cRnerat8in.,smtI7ei.-adAdetuaee.si,rd.toiggsonc.aofg,SisoewautdtttyphhhB.rieemceTrhmSiah1snWote8eoyc8rMle.e0,soRsYwatf,cogoeosuairrt.tnsek,ts wMrmtBhalhoepaaHevpdvnCeeoaamtrhmsstiw,heksewneyabtsiuLBcdtkoioaleadhwcdTvgteiiiaemnvitmngeseiknsu1yitsnoa18ts8p9nt9e1hhhor0.iaestsvIoatninneTlnaadlgh1lclle9kaay'ol0tn,ats2oetyot,fnbeopedhrnhslleoyoyeidwcnm.a'tgehaplevekadereStrhnco,ytrcholeieemwesthsiywatethiarinmostntweirhlreaieeeeptlsuloWt-p,rkritonneekkodsnteiwehnniwnegnt
members alsojoined the Theosophical Society.Aytonwasnever
in the Soc. Ros., probably because he found it inconvenient to det2aNilsotaebboouotkGinatrhdenepro'sssefasmsioilnyobfatchkegrlaotuenGdeirnaltdheYCorhkiesw. IicfkouTnimdeas,fe2w5
July 1902.
A. E. Waite, Shadows ofLifeandThought (1938), p. 87.
1
14 TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn Introduction 15
MmsucsdoeoenaurrcrdnisrrleeciaesnAregse:pteondhomfn',eHniaeedterenhtdeitBenic'h,teltaoeCwssrtsaioshtnbhytitoLicepuheeaTcdnnoimhidffteaeoMerhrL:aj'seoinahsrutdsirpyctnMh.oaoaHlalltfibesehaetV,glewauaCnadenisotisdyd.laliwFtAnnoaoshctinci.rloehs.art.adtnvithidmheneagewmtcotaoujoonsfcfuthtearrhirnbeeuraeduslsge,taeuwbmdflouaaeasrrt AAoblAIanbecptndsftGcrgoe~eiorlaruleirerradrddee1,ihunmn8h-inegs9eatr4ifid'tlownsoereharatdaeesethhtxaesShwrateluoimleylarnplntprcttcl3teeoehot0mrr,oa'nrsJwneenlusTiheMvnprcyteahoetanhienigosn1eduan9icsLjDn2otioogw5oiunnfn.rwiedstbthhdioatfenhnotth,SrhGeMoeS1acBo8reiu9edSrtirtt7nosaoh-cetspo8.rAolR,ilfCnoRoirtnisooac1ilnsca91l.er,23ugi4CJrcnee'aioamanol1nlun9yaeaa2ige1nria0eyn2sr..
Meikp1asnnh8loptG8orainaor9wasetBs,eerllseyldftiahbdiinJvosrlgeeeeareMwreetts'ohsikamLfsasyhto'moot)whdnFnaegoiirtsncheeuohesl-nOidmNdiaccadpfoantters.oedcnoorbav1nesmhri0ruredey1ypee17sbrpd8taeoei8wd(grsbw6ieaeanednhssot(atottoteebshofstrer.aaicNgtetm2oiufaas9r.ietflr)ducymeeHhrbsheebupeitmesotoarnndyrwstedhedhaasseinwisSipgrdtceineitwinrheTefridaonhitAstirceoaieyofnatr'uetyslo-Jmdrotnutphhot.nhhieasIneyerttt ptSmuLh1~lan8Iiaoenbvd9cscree8eHtaerdnrdtoi'oaetVanahksntoi[eienretrnhaGfraSbyoerteoyl]rhendmce"ei8.rsyari°optvamRioo[alooo.pmsnnsraodHs.lrhafetoowilbapifrokniwfltuuuetlhaldtsd]easeuhciHitFtiamtissseirapgelssaSarhdeteoSLeescCfrurisribLoibeccvrutiskoaaebtnrnriryctynLatuiireltaetiG,lceniaegtadnesiShton,aeOGnehcGrnfaara(foseraiilfdcmtrbae1dnaeir,nn9eneyayre0nan)rlG1w,drwr-aee5aihhinnsstaaehebtvavrdaultaiiltnhnsltgoe.ogaI'
itt1MLItabGnhhh0neoheteeaa,deean0rcwrnGvddG0eGneoon0s..eorrDtnDedekeebbre.dgdso.lisironioogceahnrskfetrmiatisdMmT1hbsya8ooehe.iat9mnnndootI4aeohnmeahdurebleiatrmc1lsoutusesh9in,onmbrteT°eragrmr2fenaitercehyyiishonefohlieogna-tbifeonCnrndruc,ed1elhltytT.td8ahihbohie9teemWyecfef7rrcoPMenobmhufdalomaleaasftctnthtgitmkeowsotiehcrmgnehiipeOritaae,sahoonntrIius'ssnsDd.bssnicpreeusHodrolesrnuf,UWksecwedttebhvraaifieanuoetceswhnlgtunutiGcibltinDa'aftfooardhuoratlrTdltrrfh,WetyierchindnowmsaeeoeiwrhfwDsfpefsotGelaeoceawerythorvw.eiDateottiintnohnndrf..t, R~wtImcfsMinoeoaoohernasnI~ntir1itnshctesec9ourhcrli1rnyuobf1yy2icomcuc9eiaraopta°Fienun'3nrpRrtd.btgheaaoelBmeTaiihmssoncbneipheoaascih.biktsrIsisolplunioeiTnnuctontwrrif.hibgsnyooaal:erdrnDiastmsAuhsaphPr'ncafah.erotttWyCdeiiloeoiflasodaenont(acswi.fnpttleiocoaerAaoigobdtvlntuctooasatehiutevneoecatLoalmfolyoisfc1ln)dioaL5e9cgdbo0ra1eastld0l1aeeugHidpweCneicbpilltsaoHosyyilttoireopaiekwnsAriledtoseioseah,gsatsrrreb.upilboeryerpaueslDio,e,entnRgarfnwaiitarconhcneiWhaueosiddlsiotnnceenfBcihtsneinnreontnieecwdoabtvtoklhuhalesotyea st,rf
reasons, some months earlier (see p. 86 below). However, the appHeearreedt.ired from activemembership of the Stock Exchange in
hea.1vMilya-bseulbsCidoislleidnsThheaodsobpeheincalcop-eerdiiotdoircawl,itbhutHw.Pa.sB'.throofwLnucoifuetr', ina bMoaorkcshelle1r9f°r3omanhdis hhoemnceeifnorCthhisowpiecrka.teHde raesgualanrlyanadtivqeuratirsieadn
May 1888 after a row with Madame Blavatsky 'because of her his catalogues in the OccultReviewbetween 1912 and 1925.The
behaviour with twoyoung men'. She became Mrs Keningdale Cook text never changed: 'A Private Collector is disposing of his
after her departure and sued H.P.B. forlibelin 1890,althoughthe suit Valuable Library ~~Occult Books (upwards of 10,000 volumes),
was dropped just before it was to be heard in court. See A. H. on account of failing health. Catalogue free on application.
Nethercott, TheFirstFiveLivesofAnnieBesant (1961), p. 330.Mabel Prices moderate. "Author", 14 Marlborough Road, Gunners
Collins was the author ofLightonthePath (1885), which waswidely bury, London, W.' Judging by the local Chiswick directories he
read in Theosophical circles. There were many reprints, including a probably died in 1930.
Russian translation (Geneva, 1925).
16 TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn Introduction 17
Luckily Gardner was an inveterate hoarder and preserved the Apart from Ayton's letters, which form the substance of this
letters he received from Ayton,Westcott, MacGregor Mathers book, they included a mass of correspondence relating to
and othermembers ofthe G.D. UnfortunatelyhisTheosophical Gardner's membership of the G.D. (1892-7) and his enduring
Society correspondence, which must have been extensive, did relationship with Dr William Wynn Westcott. Gerald Yorke,
not reach the ultimate destination of his G.D. papers, namely that most generous of mortals, kindly lent me the complete
the late Mr Gerald Yorke, a patrician Gloucestershire colle~tion. The story of the. G.D.'s early years (1887-92)
landowner whom I first came to know well during the 1960s. remained totally obscure until I unexpectedly discovered an
Yorke acquired them after Gardner's death from the late important cache of papers for which the occultists had been
Michael Houghton (i.e., Hurwitz) during the 1930S. Houghton vainly searching for at least forty years. The story of this
was the founder and proprietor of the Atlantis Bookshop, then trouoaille will be found in The Magicians. In any event, the
in Bury Street close to the British Museum. I used to visit it volume now in the reader's hands represents an extensive
occasionally before the war, not to see Houghton but, rather, a 'footnote' to my previous work on the G.D.
German refugee bookseller whom Houghton allowedto occupy . I must r~turn.' if only briefly, to Michael Houghton and
a corner of the ramshackle premises and who, much to introduce hIS friend the late Gerard Heym. I rediscovered
Houghton's irritation, regularly sold me books that had no Houghton in more commodious premises in Museum Street
connection with occultism. At that time my lack of interest in after the war. He wasamildlycantankerous 'occultist'whodid a
arcane knowledgewastotal;indeed, itstillisexcept inrelation to little writing and publishing on the side. The curious are
the history of ideas or, if one likes, the study of 'intellectual referred to ?is T.he WhiteBrother,An OccultAutobiogra#y (1927),
underworlds' or sub-cultures. and poet~ m slimvolumes: Shoot- andbe Damned (1935), and
My preoccupation with the latter began in 1960 when I ManyBrightnesses (1954). He regularly announced his intention
commenced the research for Urania's Children: The Strange offou.ndi~g an occult Order, but nothing evercame ofthe plan.
World oftheAstrologers;whichwaseventuallypublished in 1967. He.died m c.196~ and after a brief interval his bookselling
In the course of investigating the extraordinary expansion of business was acquired by the friendly members ofthe Collins
interest in astrology that began in Great Britain during the family, who continue to specialise in 'occult' literature.
1890SI discovered A. E. Waite's Shadows ofLife and Thought It was Heym who advised the late F. L. Gardner's sister to
(1938), and read his tantalizinglyobscure account ofthe origins sell her deceased brother's papers to Houghton. The latter
of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and his own introduced me to Heym, but that was some years before I
experiences in the Order. Bewildered byWaite's obfuscations I became involvedwith the G.D. problem in 1968or Iwouldhave
decided to try to solve 'The Mystery of the G.D.' and The questioned him on the subject of Gardner. Heym was a
Magicians oftheGolden Dawn:A Documentary History ofaMagical ~nowledgeable and energetic eollector of rare alchemical
Order, 1887-1923 appeared in 1972 (to be reissued by the literature - so knowledgeable and energetic, indeed, that some
Aquarian Press). London (and possibly also Parisian) antiquarian booksellers
When Ibegan toworkonthe G.D. problem in 1970there was suspected that some small and easilyportable items found their
only one possible point of departure, namely F. L. Gardner's way~o h~s vast and secre.t(!) library in Chelsea by a process of
papers, which Gerald Yorke had purchased from Houghton. telekinesis, He used to invite me to take tea with him at the
Devonshire Club where he spoke in whispers (literally)about
19•84R)e.published as Astrology and the Third Reich (Aquarian Press, sSeecprteetmpblearns19a6n2d bcuotnnescpteieodnisl.y Imaladset smawy ehsicmapeinwPhaernis hine
18 TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn
broached the subject of an investment in an inevitably risky
alchemical publishingventure. After all,alchemists should know
how to make their own gold. The curious are referred to his
articles in Ambix (Journal for the Study of Alchemy and Early
Chemistry, I,i, 1937). I was delighted when I discovered a copy THE LETTERS
ofAleister Crowley's Equinox (j.i)with an inscription in Heym's
handwritingto the effect that he was '10° = 1°.Supreme Magus
of the R+C. Paris, 193I'. The late Gerard Heym was the
Supreme Magus of precisely nothing. However, we owe it to
him that the Ayton Papers eventually reached the irascible Mr
Houghton and proceeded thence to Gerald Yorke.
I have preferred to omit any annotation for the many old
alchemical books to which Ayton referred in his letters to
Gardner. In anycase there was often more than one edition and
Ayton hardly ever provided dates for the copies in his
possession. For detailed biographical and bibliographical
information the reader is referred toJohn Ferguson, Bibliotheca
chemica (Glasgow, 1906) and [Denis I. Duveen], Bibliotheca
alchemica etchemica (London, 1949). However, I have included
footnote references to contemporary publications, personalities Device used by Ayton on his writing paper
and events, and have indicated the location of the very few
letters that were not in Gerald Yorke's collection. Allthe letters T HE EARLIEST of Ayton's surviving letters was written in
areFitnoaGllya,rdInemruustnleresscoortdhemrwyistehainnkdsicattoedM. r R. A. Gilbert, a A18.8E6. tWoaCitaepdtaeisncrFibreadnchisimGienorTgheeIBrwroitnher(h1o8o2d8-o9f3th),eRoof~ByrCisrtoosls.
lBeiasrhnoepdstoann,tiqBuraisrtioaln), bwohooksseellecrataalotguBersistohlave(4pJrouvliiudsedRbooadth, m(1e9a2s4u,rePPo·5f6a8ftfh.)inaksin'ga abnedlievreeradiinngthpeeroscocnultofarhtsiswpiathrtiincutlhaer
accurate information and occasional gusts of laughter; to Mr mental class ... for the rest [he] was satisfied apparently With
JtTfooohhrttenhyoesyHoesaptamarhfsiif)lcs,la,tolhLfeSitbohCrceahieriLstiyawonniocdofkofEntPhnuLegbliUlabincrnadirL.tyeibd(raaGsrrysaoanondfdtLetnohdedguLeriiobnfrgaErtynhgeolfapntahdse;t wtaI(hrmniwedtinilpnieatusan'srwrsyuaai,nsmitasMbuzionateifpsaosoulnponbiuilrtcsiiostuahaanaedldndidsdamwmt,orpiitastotibehnlutegehdiserMo'.-tnraMWuusotamahnsibot,oeenwfriw'imc.t)hheFinacosthpreioaehnsIirseswimdociniynr'ctsfolo'eoFrcRrbaiertinheatgeerassetr
Masonry in England, 187°-85' inArsQuatuorCoronatorum, vol.
85 for 1972. Ayton's letter reached the library of the United
Grand Lodge of England, together with about 150 others from
various correspondents, a year after Irwin's death. I used them
extensivelyfortheAQCarticle mentioned above. The onewhich
followsdeals withvarious topics mentioned in aletterAytonhad
recently received from Irwin.
20 TheAlchemist oftheGolden Dawn TheLetters 21
TheVicarage,Chacombe I know about Thomas.' He is a Public Medium, and like all
1
by Banbury, Oxon the rest, pays the penalty of being subject to the will of
20 May 1886 Elementaries, & losing control ofhimself. He has attained to
some kind of spiritual insight into the Macrocosm, but others
My dear Sir [i.e., F. G. Irwin, of Bristol], havedone itsomuch better, that itisverylittleworth. His Paper
I amvery glad to have a letter from you. My time certainly is advertises him, & he makes what's to him a livingby it. Please
fullyoccupied, especiallysince the discoverythat Burgoyne, was excuse a short letter this time. In haste,
an alias for T. H. D'Alton, or Dalton, alias Seymour, a Yours fraternally, Wm. Alex'. Ayton
convicted felon.
I
I too commenced with Spiritualism and worked it out, tho' I Thomas Henry Dalton (aet. 27) described as a grocer, was
from my earliest years I had been reading Cornelius Agrippa, sentenced to seven months imprisonment at Leeds Borough Sessions
Philalethes and others without being able to get anylight. As to inJanuary 1883 on a charge ofconspiring to obtain money by false
pretences. He and another were running a fraudulent 'National
skeptisism not suiting me, I am an Occultist first of all, & then
EmploymentAgencyand Mercantile Assistants' Bureau' (seetheLeeds
anything else.I did not know,or had not realised that Iwastobe
Mercury, ro january 1883). After his release from prison Dalton, who
chiefin the new Rite ofPerfection inthe Sat B'hai. Ihavebeen
2 now used the pseudonym Burgoyne, became Secretary of a spurious
too harassed withthe H.B. ofL. to attend toanythingelse. Iwill
'Hermetic Brotherhood ofLuxor', which was founded bya so-called
attend to it as soon as possible. occultist called Peter Davidson. According to A. E. Waite (inA New
My ownexperience ofAstrologyand the Taro, is,that neither andRevisedEncyclopaedia ofFreemasonry, new and revised [itwasnot!]
is of much use, unless you have developed the inner light so as edition, 1923, art. 'Hermetic Brotherhood ofLuxor') Ayton,whom he
to see spiritual correspondence ofeach Symbolasitturns up. If clearly identified, although not by name, was unwittingly involved to
you have not read P. Christian's Histoiredefa Magie you should the extent that he not onlyjoined the 'H.,B. ofL.'but 'appears tohave
do so. He givesan account ofwhat Cagliostro did in the wayof been unwiselyactivein securingsubscribers among people ofhis own
predictions by the Taro.' It and Astrology are closely class and remitted their monies to Burgoyne'. There was a scandal,
interlinked. Unless one has undergone the training which which greatly affected Ayton. Davidson and Dalton fled to the USA,
where, according toWaite, Davidson continued torun the H.B. ofL.
Cagliostro had, we cannot do the same, tho' we may get some
kind ofapproximation toevents.Mesmerismisapart onlyofthe 2 I have described the RoyalOriental Order of the Sat B'hai as 'a
GreatScience, tho' amostimportantpart, & Cagliostrowasalso comic pseudo-Masonic balloon, which rose a few feet into the air,
wobbled briefly and then quietly collapsed without the average
proficient in that.
I do not think seances with Eglinton' will do any real good, memberofthe Craftknowingthat the thing had ever existed' ('Fringe
Masonry in England, 1870-85',AQC, vol.85, 1972). Nevertheless, it
and possiblyharm. Spiritualism ispart of the keyto Occultism,
recruited a few Freemasons without much sense of discrimination
but only a small part, and a new dangerous part taken by itself
during the period 187I-80.Afterthe latter date itfellintothe hands of
only.
John Yarker, a major collector of pseudo-Masonic 'nonsenses', who
I do not think P[eter] D[avidson] knew that T.H.B. was a
ingeniously amalgamated itsCeremonyofPerfectionwith the ritual of
convicted felon, butwhen he did knowit, he stillembarked with a recent novely called the Order of Light. The latter had been
his family and this felon for America. He has not been over launched without any audible beating of drums by Maurice Vidal
scrupulous and has been making use of Occultism for mere Portmanin 1882.Ithad the sameechoesofHinduismasthe Sat B'hai,
secular gain. I could tell you much of it if I were to see you but with a Qabalistic top-dressing. Ayton was among the first to be
personally. admitted to its 'secrets'. In what may be the holograph draft for a